


Just Maybe I'll Come Home

by spaceprincessem



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Demon, Emotionally hurt Stiles, Established Relationship, Happy Ending, M/M, Monster of the Week, Pack Feels, The Hale Pack - Freeform, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:01:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24758989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceprincessem/pseuds/spaceprincessem
Summary: “Now remember,” Deaton said as he stood in front of them, “everything that you’re seeing is an illusion. Stiles is the only true thing in there and you need to help him realize that what he is experiencing isn’t real.”Derek nodded his head, words failing him. He let himself relax back into the fabric, the feel of Scott’s claws making his hair stand on end. ForStiles. He repeated over and over again in his mind, ignoring the ache in his chest, because he definitely didnothave time to think about that right now. He could feel Scott’s hesitation, the hammering of the younger alpha’s heart beat making Derek’s head spin.“Scott!” He barked before he growled in pain as claws met flesh and Derek’s world went black.
Relationships: Derek Hale & Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 18
Kudos: 400





	Just Maybe I'll Come Home

_Stiles!_

It was his name, always his name, called from a distance, faded, but desperate and pleading. He wanted so badly to answer them, but he was lost, stumbling in the dark with no way out. How could he reach someone that was so far away? He opened his mouth to scream, but no words came out. He suffocated in the silence, the emptiness twisting around his throat, constricting his lungs and coursing through his very soul. Pain ripped through his body, tearing him limb from limb. God, why couldn’t it just end? The only constant was the sound of his name, echoing around him, growing more quiet by the second before it was overwhelmed by a deep, terrible laugh.

Just end it. End it! 

_Please_

Stiles shot up in bed, the scream hitching in his throat, fingers digging into the sheets as he tried to catch a grip on reality. His breathing was shallow and it wasn’t until he felt strong arms wrap around his waist, stubble against his shoulder, lips pressing into his skin did he finally realize that he was okay. He was safe. He exhaled slowly, closing his eyes and leaning into the touch. 

He silently counted his fingers. 

_Ten._

“Nightmare?” Derek’s voice was gruff, heavy with sleep, but Stiles could feel him smiling into his skin.

“Sorry,” Stiles offered.

“It’s been a while.” Derek said as he released Stiles, turning so that they could face each other. “What happened?”

Stiles had suffered many nightmares over his teenage years. Considering all of the shit they had been through it was a miracle they had any peaceful nights at all. But, with most things, as time passed the nightmares faded away. As did all of the other weird, supernatural crises that had been so numerous years ago. Still, Stiles was not immune from them, nor did he think he would ever be. At least now he didn’t have to handle them alone.

“The demon, I think,” Stiles said, a shiver going down his spine as he remembered the sinister grin, “remember him?”

Derek stiffened, frowning deeply. “Stiles, that was years ago.”

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, wishing he could offer up an explanation. “So was the Nogitsune, but,” he gestured vaguely with his hands, words failing him, “you know.”

Stiles watched as Derek’s frown faded into a soft gaze. Stiles held his breath, knowing he would never get used to Derek looking at him like _that_. He thought after nearly four years of dating he wouldn’t come undone by the subtleties that was Derek Hale. And yet, he still felt the flutter in his stomach when their hands brushed against each other when they did mundane things. His heart still raced when Derek’s eyes met him across the room. His grin grew wider when he could see the wonderfully adorable bunny teeth break away in Derek’s smile. Just when he thought he couldn’t love the wolf anymore than he already did he found small ways to fall all over again. 

“You don’t need to explain yourself, Stiles.” Derek said as he rested his hand against Stiles’ cheek, thumb rubbing across his skin. “Just know I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

Stiles nodded his head. “I know.”

Derek kissed him gently on the lips and Stiles took a moment to breathe him in, never wanting to forget how Derek felt against him. They settled back into the bed, Stiles snuggled into Derek’s protective arms. Most of the bad was behind them and they had come out of it together. Stiles could live with the nightmares because they would eventually disappear, but Derek would always be there.

-

“I got into vet school!”

Stiles’ grin grew as he all, but slammed his coffee onto the table, nearly toppling the whole thing over as he pulled Scott into his arms. The alpha laughed as he returned the embrace, both boys swaying in their seats, ignoring the stares they had just received from causing a ruckus. Stiles could care less. His best friend was going to vet school!

“Scott, that’s amazing!” Stiles said, finally releasing him. “I knew you could do it.”

Scott only beamed in return as he shoved a good bit of chocolate muffin into his mouth while Stiles returned to his coffee.

“I’ve already talked with Deaton as well,” Scott said, “and we’re going to expand the Beacon Hills clinic once I graduate.”

Stiles felt his face beginning to hurt from how hard he was smiling. He and Scott had gone to separate colleges, like most of the pack, but they had all agreed on returning to Beacon Hills, and now it seemed like that dream was slowly becoming a reality. Long distance friendship had been hard, but they had made it work. While they still had another half of a year of university left and Scott would inevitably go through four more years - at least - of school before he was officially back, it was a start.

“Lydia’s already secured her job despite not graduating yet.” Stiles said with a small roll of his eyes, but his smile never left his face. “Boyd and Erica just bought an apartment not far from Derek’s loft, Isaac and Allison are back from their European adventure, and-”

“And Kira just got accepted to grad school only an hour away.” Scott finished with his own smile. “Even Jackson is back for good.”

“The pack is almost together again.” Stiles said with a nod of his head. “Well, I mean, everyone is home for the holidays now, but, you know what I mean.”

“What’s the point of you even graduating?” Scott asked as he poked Stiles in the side teasingly. “You and Derek already have a best sellers mystery series, which, I’m still waiting on an early release of book three by the way!”

Stiles slapped Scott’s hand away before he snagged a piece of chocolate muffin, causing Scott to growl slightly. “Because getting my degree has always been a part of my plan,” Stiles responded matter-of-factly, “and you know we’re still half way through the editing process. Besides, I’ve already slaved away for three and a half years and I never give up.”

Scott rolled his eyes, “Yes, I am well aware.”

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, but Stiles was never one to be silent for too long. When he wasn’t talking he was thinking. And right now his brain was taking him back to the nightmare he had last night.

“Do you ever miss it?” He whispered as he looked down into his nearly empty coffee cup, watching the remaining liquid swirl slowly over the white surface.

“Miss what?” Scott asked as he looked up from his phone.

Stiles shrugged his shoulders slightly. “The danger? Protecting the town from the weird, the creepy, and the downright deadly?”

Scott barked a laugh before running a hand through his hair. “You serious?”

Stiles just shrugged again. “Yeah, maybe,” he released a small sigh, “I don’t know.”

“I don’t miss almost dying on a regular basis.” Scott responded with a snort.

Stiles didn’t miss that either, but he had always thought it was strange how the supernatural incidents just kind of died out after their interaction with the demon four years ago. It was like the last, big _fuck you_ from what ever strange spell the Nemeton had cast over the town of Beacon Hills. After that, which, yeah, it had been a huge fucking mess, things just kind of went quiet. Stiles found it both nice and a little bit boring. He had found a routine in whatever they had been doing to keep the town safe. Bad things started happening, they would do their research, come up with a plan, try to not die, and then save the day. Now his routines just included late night study sessions, obscene amounts of coffee, classes, and spending _lots_ of time in Derek’s bed (which, yeah, he totally didn’t mind that at all).

“Don’t start wishing for something dangerous to spawn while we’re all home on break.” Scott groaned as he slumped in his chair, clearly catching some look on Stiles’ face.

Stiles only laughed in return. “Don’t worry, I’m just being nostalgic.” Despite the quietness of a normal life Stiles had had enough of supernatural baddies to last a lifetime thank you very much.

“Good.” Scott replied, sounding relieved. “Because after that demon incident I thought we were never going to recover.”

It was something they all rarely talked about because it had just been _that bad_. Stiles had really thought he had met his match with the Nogitsune, but apparently demons were a whole other level of evil. He suppressed another shiver, shoving the demon’s face out of his head. It was long gone, and Stiles knew those memories belonged in the past.

-

Stiles blinked, readjusting his position at his desk for the fourth time in the past five minutes. He was unfocused, his eyes reading over the same line again and again. Despite the holiday season they still had deadlines to adhere to, but trying to edit Derek’s most recent chapter was proving harder than it usually did. Not that it wasn’t good, because, holy fuck what couldn’t this guy do, but Stiles just felt his mind slipping to other places. Which, okay, yeah, it normally did that, _a lot_ , but when the time called for him to take things a little more seriously he could get the job done.

“Is this your nonverbal way of telling me I need to consider a rewrite?” Derek asked from over Stiles’ shoulder, starling the younger boy from his (lack of) concentration.

“What?” Stiles asked as he looked up at his boyfriend.

“You keep shifting and I haven’t seen you scroll for the past ten minutes.” Derek grunted, expression mixed between amused and concerned. “If it’s that bad-”

“No!” Stiles responded, cutting Derek off before the alpha could downplay his amazing writing ability. “I just, I can’t-” he paused trying to articulate the mess that was his brain at the moment, “it’s a bit jumbled up here.” He finally settled on as he pointed to his head. 

Derek nodded his head in the direction of the couch and Stiles sighed. Derek’s eyebrows were clearly stating _let’s talk about it_ , which Stiles wasn’t really sure what there was to talk about. Everything was falling into place, just like he had always imagined it would be. Scott had gotten into vet school, they were going out later to celebrate, and the rest of the pack was starting their move back home. They were all together for the winter holidays and Stiles was beyond excited to be with them. Typically, Derek was the one who was wary of things going well, always expecting something to eventually go wrong. Stiles had worked hard over the years, convincing Derek that he deserved to be happy and that it wasn’t going to be taken away from him like so many other things had. It had been less than twenty-four hours and that stupid nightmare had already messed with his head.

Stiles slowly sat down next to Derek, their knees touching. Derek waited for Stiles to say something because Stiles _always_ had something to say. Stiles opened his mouth several times, but closed it when he knew complete and utter nonsense was the only thing about to spill out. He had almost started to list the credentials of Scott’s future vet school - which he had immediately looked up after their meeting to make sure it was just right, because nothing but the best for his best friend - but thought better of it.

“You’re anxious.” Derek said.

Right. Werewolf.

“To be fair, I’m always anxious.” Stiles said, trying to smile.

Derek rolled his eyes, clearly wondering how he had gotten stuck with Stiles as his partner in life, but it only made Stiles’ smile wider. “But this isn’t your typical test or deadline looming near anxiety.” He responded, laying a hand on Stiles’ bouncing knee.

Stiles sucked in a deep breath, pulling his bottom lip through his teeth, chewing on it for a moment. “Aren’t you ever worried this is all way too good to be true?” He blurted out. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, this is the happiest I’ve ever been. The pack is coming home, I’m close to graduating, you’re writing career has flourished, you’re my boyfriend-” he said looking up at Derek like he still couldn’t believe it, ‘- _my boyfriend_ , Der, like holy shit, if you asked my poor little bi heart at the ripe age of sixteen if I ever thought Derek _fucking_ Hale would be my boyfriend I would have laughed in complete disbelief!”

“Stiles-” Derek started, but Stiles was talking a mile a minute now, all of his thoughts rushing out like a flood.

“I mean, Peter, your creepy, murder uncle, Peter sent us a goddamn Christmas card with a picture of him and Malia from Italy like he actually cares about rebuilding his family relationships!” Stiles continued, ignoring Derek quietly calling his name. “Which is totally great, the more Hales the better, right? Did you know Boyd was going to propose to Erica on Christmas day? Of course you did,” Stiles plowed on, not giving Derek a chance to answer, “he’s your second. Isaac is head over heels for Allison and I swear I saw Chris Argent, yes our Chris Argent, give him a hug when they returned from their trip. My dad has actually been sticking to his diet, which is a miracle of its own and now that I’m talking about it-”

“Stiles!” Derek shouted, causing Stiles to stumble forward. 

Had he been pacing? When did he start pacing? He coughed quickly, clearing his throat and forcing himself to sit back down next to Derek.

“Sorry.” He mumbled.

Derek reached out, taking Stiles’ hands in his own. “Don’t be sorry. That was a lot of really good things that are happening and believe me, I know more than anyone what it’s like to be afraid that it’s all going to be taken away from you.”

Stiles squeezed Derek’s hands, a small smile coming to his face. He had been told over the years that he was Derek’s anchor, keeping him grounded and human when the alpha needed it the most. Stiles always made sure to remind Derek that he was Stiles’ anchor as well.

“I guess years of fighting the supernatural just makes you paranoid.” Stiles said with a shrug after a moment.

Derek snorted. “I’ve been a bad influence on you.” 

“Oh no,” Stiles said as his hands moved up Derek’s arms, pulling the wolf closer to him, so their lips were inches apart, “on the contrary you’ve been a very, very, _very_ good influence on me.” He whispered seductively before kissing Derek.

Derek pulled Stiles onto his lap, deepening the kiss, his warm hands running up and underneath Stiles’ shirt. Stiles slipped his tongue into Derek’s mouth, his fingers pulling through Derek’s hair as he grinded his hips down, drawing out a moan from the alpha.

“Stiles,” Derek whined as he broke the kiss, “we have to get ready to meet the others soon.”

Stiles pulled back, face slightly flushed, but he was smirking at how hard Derek was against him. He loftily got up from Derek’s lap, relishing in the wolf’s face at the loss of contact before he began pulling his shirt over his head.

“Fine, but I think we would save time if we showered together.” He winked before disappearing into the bathroom. He didn’t have to wait long to hear Derek’s heavy footsteps falling in behind him.

-

Stiles threw his head back laughing, his fingers re-gripping the beer in his hand as the rest of the pack fell into fits of laughter with him. God, he had missed them all so much. Over their college years they made sure to get together as much as possible, but it was few and far between to have _all_ of them packed into the same room. Stiles knew that soon it could be like this all the time. He had been glad that the downtown area of Beacon Hills had developed into a place where the younger crowds were flocking to. There were some local cafes and coffee shops popping up all over the place along with a few bars and clubs that helped the nightlife take flight. Restaurants, bookshops, stores, and other places of entertainment were filling in the once empty spaces, breathing life into the town. They were currently at one of his and Derek’s favorite bars. It was casual, but the atmosphere was light, good music always playing just at the right volume, never too loud or too soft. It was fairly popular, but no one minded the slightly obnoxious group of supernaturals - and their humans - taking up the giant table in the corner. 

“Are you nervous?” Stiles asked Boyd quietly when he knew Erica was distracted by a game of pool with Derek, Isaac, and Kira.

“Not at all.” Boyd said with a grin. “You better watch out though, because Erica is probably going to ask you to be a bridesmaid.” He said with a chuckle as he took a sip from his beer. “I would fight her on it, but I already know she would win.”

Stiles was flattered he was such a hot commodity for bridal party positions. He knew that if Erica really wanted to put him in a pink dress he would totally rock it. He tried not to let his mind wander to picturing Derek in a fitted suit, knowing it was one of his biggest weaknesses when it came to his boyfriend. He shook his head, willing his boner to go down, remembering that he was surrounded by wolves that could practically smell the desire rolling off of him, and checked everyone’s drink.

“I think it’s my turn to buy the next round.” He said happily to Boyd before he moved towards the bar. 

As the night wore on it was starting to get a little more crowded, but Stiles had no problem pushing his way through to the bar, where his favorite bartender, Tyler, was making drinks.

“Another round?” Tyler asked with a raised eyebrow, a small smirk on his face.

“Yes, please.” Stiles said as he leaned against the wood, fishing into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. He knew the wolves couldn’t get drunk, but he was more than happy to at least keep his buzz going.

“Drinks are on me.”

Stiles felt a hand on his arm and he turned to see a stranger he was bumping shoulders with smiling at him. He was fairly handsome, as strangers went, but there was something about his smile that was a little too perfect and it almost gave Stiles the creeps. The stranger ran a hand through his blonde curls, his other still resting against Stiles’ wrist.

“Thanks,” Stiles managed to get out through tight lips, “but I don’t know you.”

The stranger laughed. “It’s your buddy’s vet school celebration, right?” He asked as he jerked a thumb in Scott’s direction.

“How-” Stiles began, his heartbeat began to pick up and if he wasn’t careful Derek would be at his side quicker than he could blink.

The stranger smirked. “I think the whole bar heard you practically yelling it over an hour ago.”

Stiles looked over at Tyler who just nodded his head in confirmation, chuckling at Stiles’ over enthusiastic nature.

“Uh, yeah,” Stiles responded, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, “sure, thanks.” Was this guy flirting with him? Not that it mattered. Derek would put a stop to that immediately because the alpha was extremely territorial.

“No problem.” The stranger said as he pulled out a large stack of bills, handing it to Tyler before telling the bartender to keep the change. “I have a stupid amount of cash and it’s nice to see people being happy and celebrating their friends.” He added with a wink. 

Stiles wasn’t really sure of what else to say, so he just thanked the stranger again, trying not to shiver as he threw Stiles that too perfect of a smile again. He turned, ready to make his first trip back with the drinks when he almost plowed into Derek, nearly covering the alpha in beer.

“Derek!” Stiles said, startled by his sudden appearance.

“Is that guy bothering you?” Derek asked, his voice low and growling.

Now it was Stiles’ turn to smirk. “You’re so hot when you’re territorially jealous.” He said with a waggle of his eyebrow. 

He saw Derek refrain from rolling his eyes because they were still trained on the stranger who was now happily chatting with someone else at the bar. He shoved the drinks into Derek’s hand before the alpha could make a scene.

“Here, take these back,” he said as Derek gracefully caught them, “and I’ll get the rest. No need to rip someone’s throat out during a celebration.” 

Out of the corner of his eye he could see the rest of the wolves tense as they threw looks at the stranger. Great. Derek had the whole pack on high alert. It was a miracle that anyone outside the group was allowed to be nice to him without receiving a death glare or snarl from one of the wolves. He considered getting new friends for all of one second before dismissing the thought entirely. His pack was just looking out for him and Derek, and really, what more could he ask for? Besides, once he was back with everyone they had immediately relaxed. If anything they all pulled him closer, not so subtly scenting him. He wondered if Kira, Lydia, and Allison were ever scented as much as he was, since they were closer to being human than the rest of the pack. And Allison was human. He didn’t mind too much though, as Derek’s arm slipped around his waist, making sure everyone knew exactly who Stiles was with.

The night carried on and as it was drawing to a close Stiles stumbled to the bathroom, telling Derek there was no possible way he could hold it until they got back to the loft. The pack had already made plans to play a lacrosse scrimmage later in the week, followed by pack bonding dinner and movie before they all gathered together to celebrate Christmas (and a late Hanukkah for Isaac). Stiles was beyond excited about his gifts this year. He had worked really hard to keep them all a surprise, especially Derek’s, which was fucking difficult when they knew whether he was lying or not. Thank god for Lydia, who had helped him pull the entire thing off.

He quickly used the bathroom, snorting at some of the drunk messages written on the wall in sharpie. As he moved to the sink, one in particular caught his eye.

_Wake up_

He blinked, several times, breath hitching in his throat when we reached out, tracing his fingers over the message. It looked disturbingly close to his own handwriting. But, why would he write that on the bathroom wall of his favorite bar? He barely had time to think as the door burst open, startling Stiles, before a guy ran to a closed door stall and puked in the toilet. Stiles couldn’t help the dry chuckle leave him as he turned back to the wall. He was taken aback as his fingers traced over the words, but they were completely different now.

_Bottoms up, bitches!_

“Huh.” Stiles said as he looked again, but he didn’t see the words _wake up_ anywhere and he figured he was drunker than he had originally thought. He made it to the sink, washing his hands and when he looked up he felt his heart stop. Caught in the reflection of the mirror was the dark, shadowy face of the demon from years ago, smile bright and wide, eyes red and hungry. As he turned, a scream on the edge of his lips, he was surprised to see the stranger from earlier frowning at him.

“You okay?” The stranger asked as he held out a hand to steady Stiles.

Stiles quickly turned back to look in the mirror, but where the demon’s smiling face was all he could see were the blonde curls and concerned blue eyes of the stranger from the bar. Stiles laughed, turning the cold water on, splashing it on his face to try and get his racing heart back down. He didn’t want to have to explain to Derek that he nearly had a panic attack in the bathroom over nothing.

Well, it wasn’t _nothing_ , but his drunk brain was being dumb and he really didn’t want to go through the motions of reliving one of the _worst_ events of his life.

“I’m fine.” Stiles said, giving the stranger a weak smile. “One too many beers.” He offered as an explanation for his strange behavior.

The stranger laughed. “Not as many as that guy.” He said as he nodded his head in the direction of the stall where the guy was still puking his guts out.

Stiles laughed. “Yeah, I’ll consider myself lucky and call it a night.”

He stumbled out of the bathroom, the stranger wishing him a pleasant evening. He pressed his back against the wall, taking in deep and calming breaths to steady himself. It was one nightmare, but he was already spiraling from it. He knew this was normal. Whenever someone had nightmares of the trauma they had gone through it was bound to bring up all of the not so wonderful memories that went with it. Stiles knew that it would pass and he would just have to deal with it for the next couple of days.

-

He had two more nightmares and after the second he dully decided he was not going to go back to sleep. He’d luckily not awoken Derek and when he glanced at the clock he decided that six am was an appropriate time to start making coffee. He cursed quietly to himself as he left the warmth and comfort of the bed, quickly throwing on a hoodie before quietly moving out into the kitchen. He knew Derek wouldn’t have minded being woken up, but Stiles had already stolen two of his nights with his dreams, and it didn’t seem fair considering how exhausted the wolf was when he went to bed last night. He could deal with one stupid nightmare on his own.

The smell of coffee wafting through the loft was a small blessing and he took in a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. He had known this was coming since that night at the bar, yet he still wasn’t fully prepared to relive _that_ night. That’s why he was less inclined to bring it up with Derek, Scott, or anyone else in the pack. He didn’t want the others to suffer those memories, especially during the holiday season. This was a time for them to be together and to be happy. Not to remember the night they had almost been ripped apart for good. 

Once his coffee was made he moved over to his desk, turning his laptop on. He figured he might as well get some editing done if he was awake. He spent the better part of an hour scrolling through the work, only stopping to make another cup of coffee. He knew Derek would be awake soon and the only plans they had today was going over to his dad’s place for dinner. It was a weekly ritual, dinner every Thursday at his parent’s house. He had been worried what his dad thought when he had first started dating Derek, but being a secret town hero greatly improved his father’s impression of the wolf. Actually, come to think of it, his father and Derek had become way too buddy buddy over the years, teaming up against Stiles when he inexplicably did something stupid. He would have found it endearing if they weren’t so annoying. 

He shook his head, returning back to the chapter, coffee in hand. He nearly spat the hot liquid all over his screen as his eyes fell over two words that filled up the entire page.

_Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up._

Stiles hastily scrolled up and down, feeling his pulse quicken and his breathing became labored. No matter which way he went the two words just continued to repeat. No, this couldn’t be happening. What was he looking at? What did he need to wake up from? He wasn’t stuck in a dream or a nightmare, was he? 

_Was he?_

He quickly looked down at his fingers, counting them. Ten. There were ten. He counted them again for good measure. Ten again. His eyes darted around the room, expecting it to start twisting and turning or for shadows to creep in closer, seeping slowly from the corners. Was he going crazy? Maybe he was too sleep deprived and his brain was just playing tricks on him. Maybe he had been right about everything being too good and it was all starting to fall apart. Maybe the demon was back…

“How long have you been awake?”

Derek’s voice startled him out of his spiral causing him to slam his hands on the desk, his heart jack rabbiting out of his chest. He watched Derek’s face shift from mild concern to full on worry as he neared Stiles. 

“Stiles, what’s wrong?” Derek asked.

Stiles knew full and well Derek could hear his stupid racing heart and smell his near panic attack. He quickly averted his eyes from his boyfriend, looking back at the computer. He nearly did a double take when he realized he was looking at Derek’s words on the page, like they had never been anything else. He was officially losing it.

“I uh,” Stiles said as he tried to calm himself, taking a deep breath, “had trouble sleeping and I figured I could get some work done.” It wasn’t a lie. “I may have had too much caffeine and thought I accidentally deleted something.” That was more of a lie, but his heart was still going so fast that maybe Derek wouldn’t have noticed it.

“You know I have back ups in case that happens.” Derek said frowning, eyes still worried as he looked at Stiles.

“Well, luckily all my hard work didn’t go to waste and it’s all still here!” He gestured a little too casually towards the computer. He was terrified if he looked back the words would change again, but they were still Derek’s words, so maybe he really just was that sleep deprived.

“ _Stiles_.” Derek whined, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah, yeah,” Stiles said as he quickly saved and closed the laptop, “no more caffeine before eight am and food, I got it. Breakfast?” He asked as he quickly moved past Derek, hoping that doing something would distract him from his still panicked thoughts. Though, they were less spiraling now and more just swirling at half speed.

“You know you can tell me if something is bothering you.” Derek said from behind him.

Stiles busied himself at the stove, getting to work on bacon and eggs. He really didn’t want to talk about it. If he just ignored it, it would go away on it’s own, right? That was Stiles’ plan anyway. He wasn’t going to have stupid nightmares about long dead supernatural creatures ruin his holiday break and time with his pack! He felt warm arms wrap around his waist, stubble against his neck, pulling him into a gentle embrace to get him to stop fidgeting against the counter.

“Derek,” Stiles breathed as he leaned back, “I’m fine, really.”

“You’ve been acting strange ever since we left the bar after Scott’s celebration outing.” Derek argued as he gently turned Stiles so the alpha could get a better look at him.

Damn. Derek was too perspective for his own good and Stiles knew that wasn’t just his werewolf powers at work. That was simply who Derek was. Stiles sighed heavily as he leaned his head into Derek’s shoulder. The wolf was going to get the truth out of him one way or another.

“It’s nothing,” Stiles started, “I don’t want you to worry.”

“Too late.” Derek snorted.

Stiles looked up at Derek rolling his eyes. “I think I’m just lapsing into old memories is all.” Stiles said, hoping Derek wouldn’t push him for details. That hope was squashed as soon as he saw Derek’s eyebrows raise in a way that clearly said _explain_. “That dumb nightmare I had the other night has just pulled me back down to our fight with that demon.”

He felt Derek stiffen at the mention of the demon and Stiles wished he hadn’t said anything at all. Even after all this time it was still difficult to remember what had happened.

“I’m sorry.” Stiles mumbled quickly, running his hands over Derek’s arms to soothe him.

Derek softened immediately, pulling Stiles into his arms. “Don’t be sorry. I think we all slip back to those dark days sometime.”

Stiles smiled against Derek’s skin, wondering how he had gotten so lucky to be with him. What had started as a ridiculous crush had evolved into something much more as they spent time together, bantering and constantly saving each other’s lives. One day it just exploded and they fell into each other’s arms. Stiles loved Derek with his whole being. He didn’t know what he would do if he lost him and he knew Derek felt the same way.

“I love you.” Stiles whispered, because it could never be said enough.

“I love you.” Derek responded before he moved so he could lean down and pull Stiles into a kiss. 

Stiles moved to deepen it, but he could smell the bacon cooking behind him and he quickly pulled away before he could burn it, causing Derek to laugh.

“Har, har,” Stiles said as he smacked Derek’s hand with the spatula as he tried to steal a cooked piece off of the plate, “keep it up and I’m burning your entire breakfast.”

“Guess I’ll just have to eat you.” Derek whispered into Stiles’ ear.

“I swear to god,” Stiles responded, his cheeks burning, “you’re going to be the death of me.”

Derek only grinned as he moved to make himself a cup of coffee. They spent most of the day lazing around the loft, with lots of sex of course, before they were forced to get some work done. Stiles refused to open up his laptop to edit and instead just help Derek work on ideas for an upcoming plot twist. After a shower (with more sex) they were finally ready to head over to Stiles’ dad’s house for dinner.

“I’m never going to get tired of riding in this thing.” Stiles hummed happily as he ran his fingers over the interior of the Camaro. 

He could see Derek roll his eyes, but it only made his grin grow wider. Stiles knew the next few days were going to be busy and he hoped that it would distract him enough from his darker thoughts. They reached the house as the sun was just beginning to set in the sky. Stiles could see the Christmas tree glowing from one of the living room windows, reminding him that the holiday was only days away. He stole a quick look at Derek, trying not to get too excited thinking about the alpha’s gift. He was so close to the big reveal and he didn’t want to ruin it now with his stupid jack rabbit human heartbeat.

“Son,” His dad said as he opened the door, pulling Stiles into a hug, “Derek.” He also pulled Derek into a tight hug, causing Stiles to beam.

Stiles moved over the threshold as Derek and his father fell into comfortable conversation about some sports game. Stiles could smell something absolutely delicious wafting from the kitchen. He quickly hung up his coat, moving towards it, curious as to when his dad had become a master chef. He could hear the sound of someone moving around in it. He paused in the archway, his breath catching in his throat. She was humming quietly as she moved between the stove and the counter top. Soft brown hair, pulled back into a messy bun, lips pursed in thought as slender fingers ran over the recipe, before she turned, gentle amber eyes sparkling when she spotted Stiles.

“Stiles.” Her voice was smooth, like honey, full of love and warmth.

“Mom.” Stiles whispered. He could feel tears in his eyes and he was suddenly stumbling forward, crashing into her arms. He never wanted to let her go ever again. She was here and she was real and she was his mom.

Claudia laughed, returning the embrace. “Honey, while I appreciate the love, you just saw me last week!”

Stiles pulled back slightly, eyeing her with confusion. “What?”

“Thursday nights are family dinner night.” She said with an amused expression on her face. “It was your idea after all.”

Stiles felt his racing heart slowing down. Yes, of course. He had just seen her last week, like he had every Thursday since he had moved out of the house to live with Derek. She had always been around, cheering him on at every lacrosse game, bandaging his wounds from late night battles, and providing some of the best food for a group of very hungry teenagers on the weekends. Now he was slightly embarrassed, cheeks flushed, as he realized he had just hugged his mother like he had lost her years ago.

“Don’t make that face.” She chided gently. “You’re never too old to hug your mother like that.”

He just nodded his head, smiling at her as she wiped away his tears with her thumb. The aching in his chest faded, but he noticed it didn’t fully disappear. He didn’t dwell on it too much, though. He loved his mom.

“Now where is my future son-in-law?” She asked as she looked around for Derek.

“Mom,” Stiles groaned, his cheeks going red again.

“Right here.” Derek said with a grin, clearing taking enjoyment in Stiles’ embarrassment before he swept Claudia up in a tight hug.

Claudia laughed as she returned the hug before she quickly put them to work setting the table. Stiles felt lighter than he had in days, watching his family and Derek laugh together as they sat at the table. His family felt complete. His eyes fell down to the table cloth, trying not to cry. This was everything he had ever wanted and it was real and it was perfect and it was his. He felt someone squeeze his hand and his eyes darted over to see Derek smiling at him. He returned it, knowing he would never get tired of seeing his family whole again.

-

Derek usually loved the quiet. It was his sanctuary in the middle of his chaotic mess of a life. It calmed him, offering a small sense of peace he rarely got in the real world. Most of his time was either spent endlessly chasing terrible creatures, fighting and barely surviving battles, or being surrounded by his very obnoxiously loud pack. Notably, the most loud and obnoxious person was one Stiles Stilinski. That kid could talk non stop if you let him. It drove Derek _fucking_ nuts. It was constant, always constant. One thing he would never, _ever_ , admit to is that even though it made him crazy, he actually, secretly, deep down, like _way_ deep down, loved it. 

There had been so much uncertainty in Derek’s life that this one constant, Stiles and his endless babbling, was a weird blessing. Sometimes Derek would tune him out, but most times he would actually listen and pay attention to the things Stiles would say. A lot of it could be nonsense, but Stiles was pretty fucking clever and every now and then he would say some pretty profound things. Derek always felt like he had whiplash because those deep, emotional thoughts would appear right after he had gone on a tangent about some weird thing no one had ever heard of before. And yeah, there were moments when even Stiles would go quiet, but it never lasted long and after an exhausting and terrible night it was calming to hear his voice talking about nothing. 

Now the quiet was a curse. Quiet meant that something was wrong with Stiles. Because something _was_ wrong with Stiles and it was killing Derek. His loft had kind of become the epicenter for saving their human because losing Stiles just wasn’t an option. Derek was thankful for the noise and the bodies that would come and go because being left alone with his thoughts, being left alone with Stiles like _that_ was too much.

Derek felt like he was on the verge of a panic attack. He had been left alone for far too long. He turned the television on, blasting the volume to hopefully drown out his stupid thoughts. He knew the pack couldn’t be here all the time. They were all working hard, trying to save Stiles and that meant they couldn’t always be there in the loft to keep Derek occupied with other things. Hell, he would have taken Peter’s asshole comments if it meant he wasn’t by himself. But, surprisingly enough, Peter was out doing whatever he could to help. It was weird, but somehow Stiles had become pack to his uncle as well. Of course Deaton had brought boxes of books to pour through, but Derek felt like he was going to rip his hair out if he was met with another dead end.

Even over the thundering noise from the television Derek could hear the small intake of breath, the beat of a heart he had memorized so well over the years. It made him pause in his pacing, turning towards the small hospital bed sitting under the window. He moved closer, hoping, praying to anyone or anything that would listen he would be met with his favorite pair of amber eyes. He was only met with bitter disappointment when he looked down in Stiles’ still face, chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Derek reached out, taking one of the cold, pale hands in his own, giving it a gentle squeeze.

It had been five days since they had faced the demon. Five days since the entire pack had almost lost their lives. Five days since the demon had taken over Stiles, who had come to rescue them in the nick of time. Five days of Stiles being completely comatose.

_“Is this really all the Hale-McCall pack has to offer?” The demon asked, disappointment in his tone as he circled around Derek, twisting the spear deeper into his back._

_Derek released a cry of pain, his fingers scratching against the wooden floor. Somewhere behind him he could hear Scott struggling to catch his breath. He knew the other alpha was pinned against a wooden beam, a very long sword punctured through his abdomen, keeping him in place._

_“This is the group that fought off the Alpha Pack!” The demon said, his dark and shadowy figure moving to Derek’s front. He lifted Derek’s chin with a long, black claw so his red eyes and bright, white smile reflected in the green eyes of the alpha. “The ones who bettered a Nogitsune! And let me tell you, those bastards are tricky. I could go one about all of your supernatural accomplishments, but I’m kind of disappointed.”_

_“Screw you.” Scott spat, blood hitting the ground._

_The demon and Derek turned their gaze towards the younger alpha, but the demon’s smile only grew wider._

_“Well, at least you have spirit, right?” He asked as he looked between Derek and Scott._

_In the distance Derek could hear the terrified cries and shouts for help from the rest of the pack. It was killing him that he couldn’t reach them, but the demon was clever and had laid the trap well._

_“So many fears.” The demon said as he cocked his head to the side before dropping Derek’s chin and standing up to its fullest height. “Ooh, I know how we can make this fun! Let’s place a bet on who is going to die first.”_

_Both Derek and Scott snarled at that, but it just made the weapons dive deeper into them._

_“Not you two, of course.” The demon said as the darkness swirled around him. “Because you’re the alphas and you’ll have to suffer their death’s first before I finish you off.”_

_Derek closed his eyes, willing his tears to go away. He needed to focus, find a way out of here and save their pack. This wasn’t how it was going to end, it couldn’t be._

_“My money is on Lahey,” the demon said and then proceeded to amplify Isaac’s scream._

_Scott made a noise somewhere between a whine and a sob and Derek would have snarled again, but the pain radiating through his body was too much and he had to stop himself from passing out._

_“I will say I’m kind of bummed,” the demon purred, “that’s a human thing to say, right? Bummed?” He asked like he was addressing a friend. He shook his head, knowing neither Scott nor Derek would answer him, “Anyway, totally bummed that I’m missing one person from your pack.”_

_Derek had just enough strength to look at Scott. The same, terrified expression overcame their faces._

_“What was his name?” The demon asked. “Oh, right, Stiles!”_

_“Leave him alone.” Derek snapped before he could stop himself._

_“Perfectly human!” The demon chuckled darkly. “I love humans. They’re the fun ones, so unpredictable. They have no special abilities, and yet yours just keeps on fighting. At least the Argent girl knows how to shoot, but Stiles, he’s harmless.”_

_“Don’t-” Scott began, earning another twist of the knife, drawing out a painful moan._

_“You know,” the demon said, running his fingers over Derek’s back, “maybe I will let him live. By the time he gets here you’ll all be dead and he’ll be the last one standing.”_

_Derek choked on his own blood. Sometimes being the only survivor was worse than death. He knew Stiles would never forgive himself for letting that happen. It was going to break him in a way that he would never recover from._

_“That’s probably worse than any form of torture I could come up with.” The demon said with a laugh. “Harmless, human, Stiles.”_

_“You’re going to want to rethink that statement.”_

_Despite the blinding pain and the deep ache in his chest Derek looked up because he couldn’t believe he had just heard that voice. It had to be a figment of his imagination because he was dying and it was his brain's last ditch effort to provide him with one small comfort. He could hear Scott stammer out his best friend’s name and Derek had never been more happy or more terrified to hear that beautifully human heartbeat just feet from where he was._

_Stiles was standing on the threshold, face hard and eyes dark as he stared down the demon, who looked somewhat surprised to see the human standing there._

_“There you humans go again,” the demon said, his moment of shock fading, “surprising me.”_

_“I’m the one you should have feared this whole time.” Stiles said, his voice uncharacteristically dangerous._

_“And why is that?” The demon asked, but Derek could hear the smallest amount of wavering in the usual cocky tone._

_“Because I know who you are.” Stiles said and Derek’s heart leapt at the smirk creeping up his face. “I know your name.”_

_“You’re lying.” The demon snarled._

_There was a shift in the room and suddenly, the things holding Derek and Scott in place disappeared, like it had been an illusion this whole time. Derek fell to the floor completely, gasping for breath._

_“You messed with my friends and now I’m going to send you back where you belong.” Stiles said._

_Derek looked up, the swirling darkness of the demon moving forward, so quickly it was almost a blur, crashing into Stiles as the latter opened his mouth to say something. Derek was on his feet in an instant, his wounds gone, like they had never been there and he was moving towards Stiles, who was suffocating in the darkness._

_“Stiles!” He screamed, Scott right behind him, but Stiles already felt so far away. “Stiles!”_

Stiles had saved them and now he was lost. Deaton had said the demon had taken control of his mind, fighting for dominance to possess Stiles’ body. It was terrifyingly close to what the Nogitsune had done years ago.

“Keep fighting, Stiles,” Derek whispered, “we’re coming for you.”

The door to the loft suddenly opened and Derek quickly looked up, but his grip remained tight in Stiles’ hand. The whole pack, plus Deaton was pouring in and Scott looked like he was actually smiling.

“Did you find something?” Derek asked, trying not to hope for good news.

“Lydia did.” Scott said a little breathlessly before he beamed at the strawberry blonde.

Derek regrettably pulled his hand from Stiles and made his way over to the table where they had been keeping all of the useful information on demons together. He could feel the anxiety and restlessness from the rest of the pack as they bounced around the table. Lydia placed a small book on the table that had several pages marked in what could only be Stiles’ terrible handwriting.

“We’ve been spending our time going over everything Deaton has about demons,” Lydia began, “but then I remembered Derek said Stiles already knew who the demon was.”

“But we went through Stiles’ entire stockpile of research.” Erica said with a frown.

“Stiles didn’t have this with the rest of his research.” Lydia explained. “Kira, Scott, and I tore through his entire room, because, knowing Stiles, he had hid the damn thing just in case.”

Derek felt like he wanted to roll his eyes. Stiles would be the one to hide the only information that could save him. Of course, to be fair, he probably wasn’t expecting to be taken by the demon like he had been.

“We found it stuffed between his mattress and box spring.” Kira said as she looked at the group.

“So,” Jackson asked, arms crossed over his chest, “what is it?”

“It’s an old demonology book that has very few copies.” Deaton explained. “When Stiles came to me early on when the demon first appeared I told him there was power in the name concerning demons. We just needed to figure out which one it was.”

“I take it there are a lot of demons.” Isaac said as he swallowed a lump in his throat.

Deaton nodded. “And this one wasn’t a common one either.”

“Figures.” Derek mumbled. Of all the things that could wander into Beacon Hills it had to be the extremely wicked and stupidly unknown ones.

“Stiles said he knew the demon’s name.” Scott said. “He was going to say it before the demon attacked him.”

“That’s probably why he went for Stiles.” Deaton said as his eyes darted to Stiles’ still form for a moment. “He wanted to stop him.”

“So who is this demon?” Allison asked.

“Vazron.” Deaton replied as he pointed to a name that was circled in red ink. “He likes to use people’s fears and desires against them. He’s an illusionist and a damn good one.”

Derek nodded in agreement. He felt like he had been physically dying, but really, it had all just been in his mind. It was the mental stress the demon was applying that would have killed them if Stiles had not intervened. 

“I don’t understand,” Kira stated, “what is he doing with Stiles?”

“He’s trying to take possession of Stile’s mind, body, and soul.” Lydia answered gravely. “If he can do that, the power of his name won’t have any affect on him, which-”

“Which makes him a lot harder to kill.” Deaton finished for her.

“You mean he hasn’t already taken possession of Stiles?” Isaac asked with confusion as he looked at Stiles.

“Demons need permission before they can take complete control.” Deaton answered. 

“Permission?” Boyd snorted. “How nice of them.”

“The demon is either offering Stiles everything he wants or is torturing him until he gives in.” Deaton continued, voice even.

Derek felt himself pale at that statement and the tensed bodies and looks from the rest of the pack told him they felt the same. They knew first hand the kind of torture the demon could do. The thought of Stiles suffering like that nearly forced him into his alpha shift, but he bit back the anger. Growling and throwing things around the loft wouldn’t save Stiles. He had to focus. He closed his eyes for a moment, drowning out everything except the steady rhythm of Stiles’ heart.

“While Stiles’ comatose state isn’t ideal,” Deaton continued, “it means he hasn’t given into the demon yet and there’s still a chance to save him.”

Derek’s eyes shot open. They still had time. They could still save Stiles. His heart was practically bursting from his chest. He would give anything to inhale the smell of pine, sunshine, and vanilla that was so very much Stiles. The scent had faded over the week and all Derek could smell was darkness and pain.

“How can we help him?” Scott asked, his voice desperate.

“Much like you did when he was possessed by the Nogitsune.” Deaton said.

“You mean, go into his mind?” Kira asked.

“Scott did it once,” Deaton smiled at the young alpha, “and he can certainly do it again. Someone should go with you though.”

The pack all looked at each other, some volunteering that they would, while others looked hesitant. Derek knew Lydia had gone last time, but when he met her eyes she was giving a very pointed look. He tried not to think about it too much. Stiles was his friend. Maybe one of his best friends, because they had grown so much closer over the years, but they couldn’t be anymore than that. They just couldn’t be. His gaze shifted to Stiles for a moment, knowing he would do anything for the human that had done everything for Derek.

“I’ll go.” Derek said, silencing the rest of the pack. He locked eyes with Scott, the younger alpha nodding his head. “I’ll go with Scott.”

“I’ll be sure to inform the Sheriff of our plan.” Deaton nodded his head at both of them. He suddenly stood up straighter, his tone growing grave and serious. “I should warn both of you the risk this will pose. Unlike the Nogitsune the demon has the power to pull you into the illusion. If you fall for it, you may never come out.”

Scott and Derek exchanged a quick glance, but there was no doubt between the two alphas. The risk was worth it if it meant they were bringing Stiles home.

“What are we supposed to do once we’re in there?” Scott asked.

Deaton’s head tilted to the side for a moment, his gaze unsure. “Honestly, I don’t know the right answer. There is power in the demon’s name, but for all we know Stiles might have to be the one to expel him.”

“What happens if they do expel the demon?” Allison asked.

Deaton smiled a little at her question. “That I can help with. While Scott and Derek try to reach Stiles the rest of you will help me prepare a holding circle so that when the demon is released we can capture it and get rid of it for good.”

Derek felt his palms itching as he bounced on his feet. He was ready to get into Stiles' mind. He knew they didn’t have much time left and this was the first time Derek didn’t feel completely helpless. Luckily, Deaton had the foresight to bring everything they would need with them. He sent some of the pack out to help carry things up from his truck.

“We’ll want to move Stiles over to the couch next to you, Derek,” Deaton explained as he motioned to the couch, “since Scott will have to put his claws in both of you.”

Derek just nodded his head as he moved over to the bed where Stiles was as Isaac and Scott moved the coffee table to give them more room. Derek’s hands moved gently over the wires in Stiles’ skin. If he hadn’t known better he would have thought that Stiles was just peacefully sleeping. He was now starting to realize that he was about to walk into something he didn’t want to see. The thought of Stiles being tortured endlessly made him feel unbelievably angry and sick, but the thought of seeing his heart’s desires was almost just as terrifying. What did Stiles want most? What would that world look like? Would Derek even be in it? It was a selfish thought, but one he couldn’t stop himself from having. 

He easily scooped up Stiles in his arms, pulling him protectively against his chest. He carefully set him down onto the couch, positioning the boy so he was mostly sitting back against the faux leather. The rest of the pack were returning from the truck, arms filled with boxes. They set everything down and gathered around as Derek slowly sat down next to Stiles. Scott moved so he was standing just behind them, claws sliding out with ease.

“Now remember,” Deaton said as he stood in front of them, “everything that you’re seeing is an illusion. Stiles is the only true thing in there and you need to help him realize that what he is experiencing isn’t real.”

Derek nodded his head, words failing him. He let himself relax back into the fabric, the feel of Scott’s claws making his hair stand on end. For _Stiles_. He repeated over and over again in his mind, ignoring the ache in his chest, because he definitely did _not_ have time to think about that right now. He could feel Scott’s hesitation, the hammering of the younger alpha’s heart beat making Derek’s head spin.

“Scott!” He barked before he growled in pain as claws met flesh and Derek’s world went black.

-

Of all the places Derek had been expecting to end up, the high school was not one of them. He groaned softly, his body aching like he had just been flattened by a very large bus. He was lying on the floor in the middle of the empty hallway in the dark. He could see soft daylight peeking through the doors just ahead of him. Somewhere behind him he could hear Scott slowly pulling himself to his feet. Derek did the same, carefully rolling his shoulders to ease some of the tension out of his body.

“The high school?” Scott asked as Derek turned to look at him.

Derek just shrugged his shoulders. “And here I was half expecting Stiles to be piloting the Millennium Falcon.”

“The what?” Scott asked, his eyebrows knitting up in confusion.

“You know, the spaceship from _Star Wars_.” Derek said, gesturing vaguely as if Scott should understand what he was talking about. Although, Stiles had complained multiple times that his best friend had never watched his favorite movie series.

“Was there a movie night I missed?” Scott asked. He looked like he was trying to remember the past few months and if he had missed out on some pack bonding night.

Derek quickly turned away, feeling a blush creep up on his cheeks. Scott had not, in fact, missed a pack bonding night. Derek had ended up watching a _Star Wars_ marathon alone with Stiles one Saturday when everyone else was busy. They had ordered takeout and sat, knees touching, despite the vast amount of room and spent the entire day together. Derek had enjoyed himself immensely. He hadn’t minded that Stiles would interject with facts or random information as the movies played. Since then they had spent many countless days hanging out together when everyone was off with their significant others. It had been a nice change of pace to do fun things instead of just research and running for their lives. Derek cleared his throat, knowing they had to get back to the task at hand.

“We should start looking for Stiles.” He said and was happy when Scott didn’t argue.

They walked along the halls of the school, clearly realizing no one was there. It was a strange place to end up, but it meant that Stiles was somewhere in Beacon Hills. Derek couldn’t imagine what perfect world would keep Stiles in the same place he had grown up in.

“Derek,” Scott said, pausing in his step, “look at this.”

Derek turned to see the banner Scott was pointing to. It was congratulating the upcoming graduating senior class.

“That’s nearly four years after we would have graduated.” Scott murmured before moving his gaze towards Derek again. “So we’re in the future.”

“But what future?” Derek asked more to himself than Scott.

Before either of them could think too hard on it they could both hear laughter ringing through the hallways. They turned in the direction that led to the lacrosse field, sharing a quick look, before taking off at a full run. They burst through the doors, pouring over the threshold and out into the afternoon sun. Derek could see, well, he could see their entire pack gathered around the bleachers of the lacrosse field, laughing together. Most of them looked like they were putting their gear on, lacrosse sticks held loftily in their hands. Derek’s heart stuttered in his chest when he spotted Stiles. The latter had his head thrown back, arms wrapped around his stomach like he had found something that Scott, whoa, wait, _not Scott_ \- Dream Scott? Demon Scott? - said particularly funny.

“Okay,” Scott - _his Scott, real Scott_ \- muttered, “this is weird.”

“No kidding.” Derek responded.

But Stiles was there and he was alive and happy and Derek really needed to get to him. They took off again, both boys calling out his name. No matter how loud they yelled Stiles did not seem to hear them. Actually, no one had seemed to hear them. They were only about twenty feet away when they were met with some sort of invisible force field. Scott had hit it first, knocking him back into Derek, causing them both to fall to the ground.

“What the fuck?” Derek growled as he pulled Scott back up to his feet. He reached a hand out, but the invisible force field held, shimmering slightly at his touch. He let out a long, frustrated sigh. He should have known it wasn’t going to be this easy.

“What now?” Scott asked. “Should we look for the demon?”

“He probably already knows we’re here.” Derek huffed. “We might have to wait until he comes to us or maybe tries to do something to Stiles.”

Scott turned to look back at the group, his eyes narrowing in on himself, who was now pulling Kira into a kiss. Derek motioned to the opposite set of bleachers, figuring the best thing they could do was just watch Stiles and maybe try to get his attention in his more vulnerable moments. He tried not to be too disappointed that he hadn’t spotted himself in the crowd. Everyone else in the pack was there. He pointedly avoided the look of pity Scott was giving him.

“Let’s get this game going!” Jackson called as he poked Scott in the ribs with his lacrosse stick, separating him from his girlfriend. “Allison and I get to be team captains this time.”

Derek watched as Allison stepped up next to Jackson, smiling brightly. Even though it was only four years in the future he could see the changes it had made to the group of young adults. They looked older and more confident in their movements and words. Derek couldn’t take his eyes off of Stiles. The once gangly looking teenager had grown into himself and Derek could see defined muscles even behind his loosely fitted, old lacrosse shirt. He was still pale, lightly dotted with moles, but there was a sparkle in his amber eyes and an ease to his mannerisms. 

“Jackson,” Allison said “you won the coin toss so you get to pick first.”

Jackson smirked and Derek rolled his eyes. Maybe not all things had changed.

“I’ll take Stilinski.” Jackson responded without hesitation.

Derek felt his jaw drop and knew Scott’s had as well as Stiles fist pumped the air. He jogged over to stand next to Jackson, resting his arm on the blonde’s shoulder, sticking his tongue out at not Scott.

“Suck it, McCall.” He teased.

Derek expected Jackson to shove Stiles off, but the captain just leaned into the touch, arms crossed over his chest, still smirking.

“You two on the same team are the _worst_.” Not Scott groaned as Allison called the alpha’s name to be on her team.

“Since when were Jackson and Stiles buddies?” Derek asked as he looked at Scott, still not believing the exchange even though it was happening right in front of his eyes.

“Since never.” Scott murmured, the look of disbelief still plastered on his face.

“Don’t be jealous, Scotty, we promise to go easy on you.” Stiles said as Jackson picked Erica next.

Jackson’s team consisted of himself, Stiles, Erica, and Isaac, while Allison had Scott, Boyd, and Kira. Lydia was pointedly sitting out, saying she would rather pluck her own eyes from their socket then run around in the muddy field and ruin her shoes.

“Lydia, can you at least ref the game?” Stiles whined as everyone started to take positions on the field.

“Don’t think so.” Lydia responded with a smack of her perfectly bright, red lips. “I’ll leave that to him.” She said as she jerked her thumb over her shoulder.

Derek watched as Stiles perked up, a bright smile filling his face.

“Hey Sourwolf, didn’t think you could make it!”

Derek’s stomach flipped as he watched himself - not himself? - move across the field, dressed in his trusty leather jacket with a fond smile gracing his lips. Derek had never seen himself look so at ease and comfortable. There was no tension in his shoulders nor was he in his normal, rigid stance that meant he was always on edge, waiting for something terrible to happen.

“I was able to finish the chapter earlier than I thought,” he heard not Derek say as he stopped just in front of Stiles, “and figured someone needed to ref your match up, considering Isaac and Erica cheat whenever they get the chance.”

“Hey!” Isaac and Erica called across the field.

“Yeah,” Stiles said with a grin, one Derek was not accustomed to seeing directed at (not) him, “but they’re on my team, so maybe let them.”

“No!” Not Scott responded immediately.

“You do need all the help you can get.” Not Derek teased, stepping way too close into Stiles’ personal space, his eyebrows shooting up suggestively.

“Please just get on the field before we all die from your stupid sexual tension.” Erica groaned.

Stiles and not Derek only laughed before Stiles winked and took off to get back into position. If Derek thought it had been weird seeing his dream doppelganger, hearing him talk was even stranger, but seeing him _flirt with Stiles?_ That was on a whole other level. He couldn’t look at Scott. Not with how hotly his cheeks were burning. What did Erica mean by her comment? Why hadn’t not Derek and Stiles looked embarrassed by it? In Stiles’ dream world were they…

No. Derek would _not_ entertain that thought right now.

Instead they silently watched the group of friends dive into their game. They were taking it seriously for all of five minutes before they were laughing and pulling dirty tricks on each other to try and get the upper hand. Not Derek wasn’t doing much refereeing. Instead he was cheering and chuckling next to Lydia as the plays became increasingly complicated and silly.

“This actually looks like fun.” Scott said after a while, startling Derek from his thoughts. “Why haven’t we thought of doing something like this before?”

“Not too late.” Derek murmured as he looked over at Scott for the first time in twenty minutes. 

“Everyone looks happy,” Scott added, “like really happy.”

Derek just nodded his head in agreement. They seemed less like the pack that was heavily weighed down by the burdens of the supernatural and more like a family who really loved and cared for each other. After about forty-five minutes they had finally called the game, with Stiles scoring the winning goal. Derek couldn’t take his eyes off of Stiles. In the real world Stiles was much less coordinated, not necessarily terrible, but here he moved with an ease and confidence Derek rarely saw. It was enjoyable to watch.

“Losing team pays for the pizzas.” Jackson said as he shook hands with Allison.

Allison only laughed as she wiped the mud from her forehead. “Fair is fair.”

Derek got up from where he was sitting, wondering how they were supposed to follow Stiles if they didn’t have a car. He almost wished he had stayed sitting down because what he saw next nearly knocked the wind out of him, making his knees weak.

“ _Stiles_ , don’t you dare!” Not Derek warned as he held out his hands, but Stiles was already tackling the alpha to the ground.

“I’m just here to claim my prize for winning.” Stiles said with a smirk before he leaned down, capturing not Derek’s lips in a kiss.

_Holy fuck._

Derek felt like his entire world was crashing down around him. Stiles had just kissed him. Or well, not _him_ , but dream Derek or demon Derek or whoever the fuck that was, but was clearly supposed to be real Derek and _oh my fucking god_ Stiles was kissing him and he was kissing back. Not only was Derek important enough to be in Stiles’ dream life, but they were together, happily together. If he had thought seeing Jackson and Stiles being friendly was a shock, he had been completely unprepared for this.

“Get a room you two!” Lydia yelled, distracting them from their make out session. 

Stiles just flipped her off before returning to more important things as the rest of the pack just laughed and moved to pick up their stuff.

“Now you’re definitely going to have to shower with me before the pack comes over.” Stiles smirked.

Derek nearly tripped over his feet at that and he had to grab onto Scott to steady him. He couldn’t hear not Derek’s response, but he wasn’t sure how much more he would be able to take. He had to promptly stop his brain from boarding that train because he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to come back from there.

“Derek,” Scott’s voice tentatively said as he supported most of the older alpha’s weight, “Derek we have to keep moving, we can’t lose Stiles.”

“Just give me a second.” Derek muttered as he staggered forward, hands gripping the nearest tree. He could hear the group’s conversation fade in the distance as they moved farther down the field. Derek knew they needed to follow, but he couldn’t fucking breathe because Stiles had chosen him to be his person.

“Remember what Deaton said,” Scott continued, trying to be the voice of reason, “this is all an illusion.”

“Based on what Stiles wants most!” Derek whined as he finally looked at Scott. 

The younger alpha was shifting on his feet uncomfortably, pointedly not looking at Derek. Scott had known, of course he had known. He was Stiles’ best friend.

“How long?” Derek asked, because now he needed to know. While he could always smell things like lust and desire from Stiles, he just chalked that up to his own general attractiveness. He had known at some point those initial scents had softened into something _more_ , but Derek had outright ignored them. It was easier to deny than to hope for something and have his heart broken if it had all been a lie.

“ _Derek_.” It was Scott’s turn to whine and although now it couldn’t be more clearly obvious how Stiles felt about Derek, Scott was not betraying his best friend’s trust. “Please, we can’t stay here, look, Stiles is still close by, maybe we can try calling his name again.”

Derek just nodded his head, needing to focus on something, anything else besides the hammering in his chest. Both boys turned, moving across the grass, getting as close as the force field would let them.

“Stiles! _Stiles_!”

Derek and Scott screamed until their voices gave out, but not once did Stiles turn back to look at them.

-

Following Stiles had been surprisingly easy. If he wasn’t around then the dream world didn’t really exist. It was like watching a scene change in a movie. Suddenly, Derek and Scott were at the loft, standing just outside its doors. Derek prayed to anyone listening that Stiles and not Derek weren’t doing anything _obscene_ in the shower because he definitely would not be able to handle that. They moved inside and Derek huffed in relief as the entire pack was gathered around the living room watching a movie and eating pizza together. They still couldn’t get much closer than they did on the field, but at least Stiles was in their line of sight again.

“Maybe we can get through somehow.” Scott whispered, like speaking at a normal volume would disturb what was going on.

“Worth a shot.” Derek said. He had to tear his eyes away from Stiles and not himself. They were sitting on the end of the couch, not Derek’s arm looped around Stiles’ waist, pulling him closer while Stiles absentmindedly played with not Derek’s fingers. Derek couldn’t stop his lips from twitching up in the corners. The fidgeting, while minimal, was so very Stiles.

He and Scott moved around the room, testing the boundaries of the force field. The entire thing was very strange and it was like the pack was stuck in a bubble they couldn’t get through. Both wolves had tried to shift and break through it, but it wouldn’t give. When Lydia had gotten up to grab something from the kitchen Scott had followed her. He was able to stand right next to her, but when he reached out his hand went right through her, like she was a ghost. So the only person they couldn’t get close to was Stiles. Figures. The demon had probably suspected they would be able to do something like this and had been prepared. Scott and Derek ended up sitting on the floor just on the outskirts of the group, silently thinking about their next move.

“You know what I don’t understand,” Scott began as he watched himself whisper something in Kira’s ear, “the demon knows we’re here, right?”

“Seems like it.” Derek responded dryly. He wished the stupid thing would show its face, then maybe he could be useful and rip it to pieces.

“Why is he letting us walk around?” Scott asked. “Why hasn’t he tried to stop us?”

Derek raised an eyebrow. The thought had crossed his mind earlier as he watched the lacrosse game. Maybe this was another form of torture and the demon was happy to watch the two alphas stumbling through Stiles’ mind, knowing there was no way to save him. He clearly didn't see them as a threat. Derek wished he could say the demon was afraid to face them, but he knew how well their last meeting had went.

“Good question.” Derek finally growled out.

He had tried to keep his eyes on Allison and Isaac because focusing on Stiles was almost too painful. He was slipping, though, as he watched the small movements between the pair. Stiles had shifted so he had his knees propped up on the couch, back resting against not Derek’s chest. Not Derek still had an arm around Stiles and his fingers were tracing soothing circles on the latter’s thighs. Derek watched as Stiles tilted his head up, not Derek leaning down so his ear was against Stiles’ lips.

_This is my favorite part_

Derek nearly jumped out of his skin. It was like Stiles had whispered the words into his own ear. Suddenly, he felt the warm body pressed against him, his eyes looking down at Stiles’ bright smile. Derek closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. His heart nearly stopped. Pine trees. Vanilla. Sunshine. Stiles. It was Stiles.

“Stiles.” He breathed. He needed to tell him this was all a lie, that he needed to wake up. All of those urgent thoughts were suddenly slipping away the longer he held Stiles against him. They didn’t seem to matter anymore. All that mattered was that he was surrounded by his pack and that Stiles was his.

“Derek!” Scott hissed, shaking him.

Derek shook his head, feeling like he had just woken from a dream. He looked at Scott before realizing he was not sitting next to Stiles anymore. The loss of warmth made his heart sink. His eyes narrowed in a glare, angry at Scott for taking him away.

“What the hell, Scott?” He snapped. 

“Dude,” Scott said, voice filled with worry, “you were staring at Stiles and then you kind of zoned out. You were slipping into the illusion.”

“Fuck.” Derek groaned, scrubbing his hands over his face. Scott was right. “I wanted to tell him to wake up, but as soon as I was next to him all of those thoughts faded. They weren’t important. They didn’t feel real.”

“Shit.” Scott muttered, wringing his hands together. “Shit. This isn’t good. We don’t even know how much time we have and we’re just sitting here doing nothing!”

Derek rubbed his temples, overwhelmed by Scott’s panic. They should have read more about how to break the demon’s illusion before they jumped in here. Although, it seemed pretty clear that Stiles was the only one that could really do something. If only they could just get close to him! Derek wondered if he could slip into the illusion again, but thought better of it. Deaton had warned them how dangerous that could be. If they couldn’t get close to Stiles there had to be something else they could do. Something that would make Stiles question everything. 

“Scott,” Derek said in a surprisingly calm voice as an idea came to mind, “do you see Lydia’s lipstick on the counter?”

Scott looked up, his eyes still wide with anxiety, but he glanced over in the direction it was sitting. He gave Derek a small nod of his head, confirming it was there.

“What are you thinking?” Scott asked as he watched Derek get to his feet.

Derek moved towards the small tube sitting next to the pink purse, breath hitching in his throat. Scott’s hand had gone right through Lydia and Derek wondered if they wouldn’t be able to touch anything in this dream world. But they had sat on the bleachers. The tree had been real and the loft door. Maybe it was just the people. He reached out, hand shaking ever so slightly before his fingers curled around the lipstick. It was real and solid in his grasp. Scott quickly got to his feet, moving so he was looking over Derek’s shoulder and down at the object in his hand.

“We’re going to leave Stiles a message,” Derek said as he popped the lid off, eyeing the bright red lipstick with interest, “and hope that he somehow gets it.”

-

Stiles yawned deeply as he stumbled out of bed. It had been a process removing himself from Derek’s arms without waking the alpha, but all of the pop he drank during the movie was coming back to haunt him. He could already feel the soreness from the lacrosse game sinking into his muscles, but he just smiled fondly, happy to have spent the day with his pack. He knew they were going to be getting together for holiday dinner and he still had some last minute things to purchase before then. He was becoming increasingly excited, and a little nervous, to give Derek his gift. He had slipped out of the loft as everyone was leaving to confirm with Lydia that it was all set. 

He didn’t bother to flip the lights on in the bathroom, knowing the light from the hallway would be enough. He luckily hadn’t had any more nightmares about the demon or any other supernatural beast from their past. He knew it was only a matter of time before it passed and he tried not to dwell on how terrible he had been feeling recently. It was the holidays and Stiles was going to enjoy them!

He moved to wash his hands, his eyes darting up to the mirror, but as they did he felt his heart leap in his throat. He stumbled back against the tiled wall. 

No. No, no, no, no, _no_! 

His hands trembled as he reached for the light, his chest already tightening, air becoming too difficult to take into his lungs. This couldn’t be real. He was just dreaming. He was still laying in bed with Derek and when he flicked on the lights he would wake up because this couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not when everything was so fucking perfect. The lights came on and Stiles felt pricks of tears in the corner of his eyes. It was just three words, written in bright red, telling him the same thing he had been seeing the past week.

_STILES WAKE UP_

Stiles let out one, shuddered breath before he screamed at the top of his lungs.

-

Both Derek and Scott had felt terrible about what their message had done to Stiles. While it was a relief that he had seen it, they hadn’t meant to send him into a panic attack. Hearing his terrified scream had sent both alphas into their shift, but they couldn’t get within ten feet of Stiles and Derek had to watch as his dream self ran in and calmed him down. It was torture listening to Stiles’ ragged breaths and near sobs, not being able to do anything about it. It had set Derek so much on edge that he had gone through the loft, throwing, punching, and kicking every object he could get his claws on. Scott had been tearing at the force field the entire time and when Stiles and not Derek had finally emerged, they were forced to retreat as the invisible force pushed them back. The loft had magically reset itself, like Derek hadn’t caused any damage.

The rest of the evening passed and they were now following behind Stiles, who was out in the downtown area doing what looked like some last minute shopping. They realized it must be close to Christmas with all of the decorations hanging up in shops and on the street. If they thought the message would force Stiles out of his dream world entirely they were mistaken, but at least it was something. Derek knew Stiles wouldn’t just brush it off, despite his seemingly lucky-go-happy attitude now. He knew Stiles better than that. There was a rigidness to him, even in his light footsteps, and every now and then Derek caught Stiles throwing a small look over his shoulder, like he was worried he was being watched.

“Yes, I promise I’m fine.” Stiles said for the fifth time as he talked into the phone. Derek could only assume it was his dream self on the other line. “I know it’s been a while, but you saw the words too!”

Stiles had paused in his talking, bouncing on his feet nervously as he shifted a few bags in his hand, clearly listening to something not Derek was saying. Derek wished he could hear the conversation, but the demon was probably making sure they couldn’t because all he could hear was static noise.

Stiles laughed, some of the tension easing out of him. “Sure.” He responded, amused. “And yes, Erica and Isaac are meeting me for coffee. I can see them now.”

Scott and Derek spotted Erica and Isaac waving at Stiles from in front of the coffee shop and the boy set in motion towards them. Scott and Derek silently followed, not knowing what else to do.

“Yes,” Stiles hummed rolling his eyes, “love you too Sourwolf.”

Derek’s stomach flipped hearing Stiles say that so casually, like he spoke those words all the time. He watched as Erica and Isaac pulled Stiles into a hug, not so subtly scenting him before they moved into the coffee shop. Derek’s eyebrows perked up curiously at that. It was such a small, strange detail for Stiles to remember that packs scented each other to pull them in, claim them as one of their own. Part of Stiles’ dream world was just belonging, without question, to the pack. He knew he had been casually scenting Stiles the closer they had gotten. He smelled too much like Scott and Derek had wanted to change that. There were small hints of Isaac and Erica too, but not much from Boyd and even less from Jackson.

They followed the trio inside and Derek had half a mind to order a coffee because he could really fucking use some. He had no idea how long they had really been in Stiles’ mind and how much time had passed in the real world. He hadn’t felt super hungry, just exhausted, but sleeping did not seem like a safe option. He and Scott sat down just out of reach of Stiles and the others.

“Derek told you.” He heard Stiles whine as the betas just gave Stiles a small look of guilt in return. “I’m fine.”

“I-if you need to talk about it.” Isaac began hesitantly, but Stiles held up his hand to silence them.

“I am not going to ruin our coffee date by talking about that _thing_.” Stiles assured them, causing the two betas to release their tension, giving Stiles a smile.

Derek turned to look at Scott who had been carefully listening too. Derek had a feeling he knew exactly who Stiles was referring to. This was good. Stiles had the demon on his mind and if they could somehow push that then maybe they could break through the force field soon. Derek let his mind wander for the moment, just listening to Stiles talk about anything and everything. He learned that apparently his dream self was a very good writer, and, together, they were working on book three of a five book mystery series.

It was interesting to see the life the demon had created for Stiles. It wasn’t at all what Derek had been picturing. He thought maybe Stiles would be away at some ivy league or travelling through Europe with Scott or some faceless attractive person. But, he was here in Beacon Hills with the entire pack and they were just doing simple, mundane things like getting coffee or playing lacrosse games at their old high school. While it would seem so boring Derek thought it was actually really nice. They didn’t appear to be burdened with the supernatural and Scott had been right, they all did look happy. Was that what Stiles really wanted in his heart? For him and his pack just to be together, safe and happy?

“Derek,” Scott whispered, leaning in, “someone’s watching us.”

Derek’s eyes carefully followed Scott’s, his body tensing. He had hoped that maybe it was someone Stiles knew, but his gaze landed on a stranger in the back corner of the coffee shop. He had blonde curls and a too perfect smile plastered on his face. He was staring right at Derek and Scott and not in a way that some people’s eyes accidentally fell on them, but this guy was really seeing them, like he knew they were there. He just raised his coffee in a mock cheer before taking a sip. Derek braced himself for some sort of an attack, but people just passed through the cafe area like nothing terrible was about to happen. 

“Derek!” Scott hissed as he grabbed at Derek’s wrist.

The older alpha hadn’t realized his claws were digging into his palms, blood dripping to the floor, slowly seeping into the wood before it faded away, like it didn’t belong.

“I don’t trust him.” Derek growled out.

Scott rolled his eyes. “Big shock.”

A large group of people moved up to the counter to order and Derek lost sight of the stranger for a moment, but when they passed he was gone. Derek looked around the shop, but couldn’t find him. He tried to sniff the air, but he realised most of his senses were dulled since everything was just an illusion. Hints of pine and vanilla still hung in the air and Derek breathed it in deeply, it was the only thing that reminded him that Stiles was real and he wasn’t part of this stupid, fake world.

“Lydia called us to help put the finishing touches together before you bring Derek over tonight.” Erica said with a wink, grabbing Derek’s attention again.

Stiles grinned and Derek his lips twitch in the corners at seeing him so happy. 

“He is going to be so surprised.” Isaac said as he ruffled Stiles’ hair. “Probably your best idea yet.”

“That’s saying a lot, considering _all_ of my ideas are amazing.” Stiles replied cockily, causing Isaac and Erica to just roll their eyes as they chuckled.

Derek couldn’t help, but wonder what Stiles was talking about. It must have been his Christmas gift and it sounded big. What would Erica, Isaac, and Lydia need to do to help finish it off? He could feel his heart fluttering nervously in his chest and he tried to ignore the look Scott was giving him. He knew they needed to figure out how to keep Stiles focused on the demon, but his own selfish curiosity wanted to see what this gift was.

“We need to figure out what to do next.” Scott urged as if he had been reading Derek’s mind.

“You’re right.” Derek said, wondering when the fuck Scott became the voice of reason. Maybe he made a better alpha than Derek gave him credit for.

Before they could decide on a plan the scene around them was shifting. Derek hadn’t realized the trio had finished up and were leaving. The day was quickly bleeding into the evening and they soon found themselves at the edge of the preserve.

“What are we doing here?” Scott asked. He was a little dizzy and used a tree to steady himself.

“I think we’re about to find out.” Derek whispered as he spotted the familiar jeep pull up.

-

“ _Derek_.” Stiles whined as he placed his hands on his hips, staring up at his boyfriend with as much exasperation as he could muster. “Don’t you trust me.”

“Of course I do.” Derek replied without hesitation. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to let you blindfold me and take me to an undisclosed location.” He was standing firm, arms crossed over his chest, eyebrows raised in a way that stated _I’m not moving_.

Stiles was never one to give up, especially when it came to getting what he wanted. He just continued to stare, widening his eyes a little bit, tilting his head so the light would make the amber color positively sparkle. He parted his lips slightly, softening his stance, his fingers reaching out for Derek’s arms. He didn’t have to wait long. Only a few minutes before Derek caved. He could hear the alpha growing as his arms fell to his sides before he leaned in, head resting in the crook of Stiles’ neck.

“I hate you.” He breathed against Stiles’ skin, making Stiles laugh as he ran his fingers through Derek’s hair.

“No, you don’t.” Stiles sang. He let Derek lean against him a moment longer before he cleared his throat. “Now, we need to get going!”

Derek only grumbled in response before he moved to grab his leather jacket from the kitchen counter. Once they were outside Stiles offered Derek the black blindfold with a large grin on his face. Derek muttered something that sounded like a few curse words and how much he regretted dating Stiles, but the latter knew the words weren’t true. He guided Derek into the jeep safely before he climbed in on the driver’s side. He turned the music up before pulling out of the parking lot to the loft.

“Does the music have to be this loud?” Derek asked as he fiddled with the blindfold around his eyes.

Stiles smacked his hand away before returning his eyes to the road. “I don’t want you to use your super werewolf hearing to try and figure out where we are going before we get there.”

Derek frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Geez,” Stiles teased as he stole glances at his boyfriend, “don’t get too excited about getting your Christmas gift early, Der.”

“Christmas gift?” Derek asked as he turned towards Stiles. “You never said you were taking me to my Christmas gift. What did you get me?”

Stiles laughed. “I’m not going to tell you if I’m about to show you in like ten minutes!”

Derek grumbled again, bit it was softer, more fonder and Stiles tried to steady the pounding in his heart. He we excited and super fucking nervous because what if Derek hated it? What if he took one look at it and was completely destroyed by it? What if he broke up with Stiles saying he was the worst person in the world for even considering doing what he did and they never spoke ever again? Suddenly, all of the worst case scenarios were playing through his mind and now he was regretting everything, wondering if it was too late to turn around…

“Stiles,” Derek said, placing a hand on his bouncing knee, “I’m going to love whatever you got or have done for me.”

Stiles licked his lips, one hand coming off of the wheel to squeeze Derek’s. It was warm, calming, and kept Stiles on course. He knew Derek, almost better than anyone else, including Scott. There was no point in doubting himself now. He took a deep breath, letting his anxiety slowly go. Sometimes he could never put into words how much he loved Derek, but he was hoping this gift would show the alpha just how much he meant to Stiles. 

They drove in relative silence, save for the radio playing at an obnoxiously loud volume. Stiles knew the entire pack was already waiting for them. Lydia, Erica, and Isaac had been the only ones who knew, the latter two only just finding out because Stiles had needed a few extra hands to help finish the project off. He loved Scott to death, but the poor boy couldn’t tell a lie to save his life and the excitement for his best friend would have radiated so hard off of Scott that Derek would have sniffed it out immediately. If Scott’s twenty text messages were anything to go by, though, the alpha wasn’t upset by not knowing and was thrilled for them to get there. 

Stiles parked the jeep, taking a deep breath before he killed the engine. He saw Derek reach for the blindfold, but Stiles smacked his hand away. “Not yet.”

Derek sighed, but listened as he waited for Stiles to get out and help him. Stiles felt his nervous fluttering in his stomach as he fumbled with the door handle. He could have sworn he heard a branch snapping from somewhere behind him. He quickly turned, looking over his shoulder, eyes scanning the area, but when there was nothing, but just dark woods he just shrugged his shoulders and opened the door. If anything was going to attack him not only did he have his alpha wolf boyfriend handy, but the pack was just a howl away. Stiles wasn’t too worried about being attacked, though.

“So we’re by the preserve.” Derek said immediately as he waited for Stiles to close the door and start leading him somewhere he couldn’t see.

Stiles snorted. “Brilliant, Sherlock Holmes. What gave it away, the scent or the sounds?”

“Both.” Derek just said with a shrug of his shoulders. “It’s like a second home, how could I not recognize it immediately?”

Stiles didn’t say anything as he took Derek’s hand and began leading him down a familiar path. He knew as they drew closer to their destination Derek would eventually be able to either hear or sniff out the pack. But, if he had noticed them, because they were getting really close, he didn’t say anything. Stiles had thought about what he was going to say for a long time. He must have written a dozen speeches or explanations as to why he had chosen to do what he did, but all of it seemed wrong now. 

He felt a wide smile grace his lips as they reached the clearing. Despite the darkness the pack had helped set up dozens of soft, glowing lights so Derek would be able to see his gift without having to use his werewolf powers. He stopped Derek and let his heart beat wildly for a second before he reached up and took the blindfold from alpha’s eyes.

“Merry Christmas, Derek.”

-

Derek and Scott followed Stiles and not Derek through the woods, curious as to why his dream self was blind folded. Scott was buzzing with excitement as they walked.

“Derek, he looked at us, right?”

“I think so,” Derek said, picking up his pace so he could keep up with the pair in front of them. Scott had accidentally cracked a branch in half by stepping on it and Stiles had stopped what he was doing to look around. While Stiles hadn’t necessarily looked at them, he had heard them, or noticed something was there. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. They had tried to call his name for good measure, but whatever moment was lost as soon as Stiles had pulled not Derek out of the car.

“Hey, isn’t this the way to..” Scott started, but trailed off as he looked at Derek, eyebrows knitting in confusion.

Derek hadn’t said anything, but he knew exactly where Stiles was going. It was his home before the fire. Home when he had returned to Beacon Hills. But now, it just stood as a sad reminder of what the Hale family used to be. Every visit always brought back painful memories, although they were more faded now, less sharp at the edges since Derek had found a family with his new pack. He could spot lights just ahead of them and he suddenly broke into a run, needing to see, needing to know….

_Merry Christmas, Derek_

Derek halted to a stop when he fell into the clearing, his eyes roaming over the house in complete disbelief. There it was, standing just a few feet in front of him, his home, rebuilt from the ashes. It was a little different, more modern, but it was big and beautiful and it was his home.

“The Hale house.” Derek whispered. “He rebuilt my home.”

Suddenly, he was standing closer, pricks of tears in his eyes, and he could hear Stiles babbling on as he gestured wildly to the house.

“I tried to make sure it resembled the original, but with some modern twist.” Stiles explained as he shifted on his feet nervously. “You don’t know how many times I had to talk to Peter on the phone to get some of the details right,” he rolled his eyes at that, “but I also wanted this to be about your new family, our pack, so the inside is a reflection of that and-”

Derek didn’t let him finish. He closed the distance between them, pulling Stiles into a kiss. Stiles was only surprised for a moment before he melted into it. Derek was pulling him closer, closer, _closer_ , god why couldn’t they be closer? He tasted like sunshine, the smells of pine and vanilla drowning his senses, but he only kissed Stiles harder.

_And Stiles kissed back_.

Derek felt like his breath was stolen away as Stiles traced his tongue over Derek’s lower lip before it moved hot against his mouth. This was _fucking_ heaven and Derek didn’t understand why he wanted this so badly. Stiles was just his friend. Just his friend. Sure, they hung out a lot and they had saved each other’s lives dozens of times, but that’s what pack did. And, yeah, he worried more when Stiles was hurt or in trouble. He watched him closer when he lied about being fine and cared about his well being. Sometimes he got jealous when he saw someone flirting with Stiles, but it didn’t mean anything, really. He did stupid little things to see Stiles’ smile or hear his laugh because it was the most wonderful sound in the world. He just wanted Stiles to be happy all the time and oh.

Oh.

_Oh._

_Oh fuck._

Derek was in love with Stiles. The sudden realization made Derek jerk out of the illusion, stumbling backwards into Scott. He was panting, the taste of Stiles still lingering on his tongue. He could see Stiles and not Derek making out before they were interrupted by the pack bursting through the front door. Their laughter echoed throughout the woods and Derek had never felt so far away from Stiles.

“Derek,” Scott snapped angrily, “you have to stop doing that!”

“I didn’t mean to!” Derek snarled back, rounding on Scott. He could feel his emotions going everywhere. His love for Stiles. His fear at the thought of losing him. His anxiety about not knowing what to do. His self hatred at being useless. His overwhelming grief at seeing his home rebuilt for him. It was too much, far too much for him to handle and now he wished he had never stepped foot in this place.

Both alphas just glared at each other, red eyes glowing in the surrounding darkness. The laughter and cheerful conversation behind them seemed out of place as tensions mounted. Scott was the first to back down, his shoulders deflating, his face falling into an exhausted frown.

“Sorry,” he muttered, scrubbing his face, “I’m sorry. I know this is a lot for you, but I can’t lose you! If I lose you, then I lose Stiles and I _know_ I can’t survive that.” 

There were tears in Scott’s eyes and Derek immediately softened, guilt rushing through him. He had been so wrapped up in his own feelings for Stiles that he had forgotten that Scott loved him too.

“Fuck.” Derek growled, running his hands through his hair before he punched the nearest tree, a loud crack reverberating through the air. Scott smelled as miserable as Derek felt.

“What are we missing?” Scott asked as he slowly slumped down to the ground. “Maybe we were the wrong people to come after Stiles.” Derek watched as Scott pulled his knees up to his chest, fighting the tears. “Some best friend I am.” 

“Hey,” Derek said softly as he knelt down next to Scott, hesitantly putting a hand on the younger alpha’s shoulder, “this is not your fault. This demon is stronger and smarter than anything we’ve ever faced.” He usually wasn’t one to give optimistic pep talks. That was Stiles’ territory, but, well, someone had to since it was just him and Scott. “If we’re still here that means we still have time, don’t give up on Stiles yet.”

Scott just nodded his head, his eyes a little hard, showing he never had any intention on giving up on Stiles. Derek sighed heavily as he sat next to Scott. He could hear the pack still talking happily not too far away from them, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at anything besides his hands fiddling with the zipper on his jacket.

“Do you think he’ll remember all of this?” Scott asked after a while, gesturing vaguely in front of him.

Derek shrugged his shoulders. “Probably.” 

They were so focused on getting Stiles out that Derek hadn’t really taken the time to think about how Stiles would react once he was back with the pack in the real world. The illusion was strong and Derek knew what was waiting for them outside of this would never compare to what Stiles thought he had been living for the past _four years_. Jesus, that was a long time. If the Nogitsune hadn’t been enough to fuck up Stiles’ reality then the demon’s dream world would just be the nice little cherry on top of this supernatural sundae. Derek felt angry again. Stiles had been the one to save them and now he was going to suffer.

“Derek, look!” Scott said, jumping up.

Derek turned to watch the scene around them rapidly change again. Derek got to his feet, grabbing onto Scott for support as images whirled past them. He had to close his eyes before he got sick from the dizziness. When he opened them he was surprised to see they were standing in a small cluster of trees right by the Stilinski household. There were several cars parked and he spotted the pack moving up the street, carrying presents in their hand. He heard Stiles’ laugh before he spotted him. He was handing not Derek several bags and gifts.

“Hey Isaac,” Stiles shouted over his shoulder to the wolf, who paused right by them, “how many gifts do you think Derek can carry without dropping them?”

“At least ten.” Both Derek and not Derek huffed at the same time.

That earned him a hard punch in the shoulder from Scott. He missed the rest of the conversation, turning back to watch Stiles run up the driveway, engulfing an older woman in a tight hug. Derek felt his stomach lurch uncomfortably, but he couldn’t understand why. This woman looked harmless. Actually, she looked to be very important to Stiles, but Derek had never seen her before. Why hadn’t he seen her before?

“Oh no.”

Derek was startled by Scott’s voice. He had been so focused on trying to figure out who this woman was that he hadn’t noticed how pale Scott had become, his body trembling as he hastily wiped at his eyes.

“Derek, he’s going to hate us.” Scott said in a voice so small Derek wasn’t sure he had heard Scott properly.

“What?” Derek asked sharply looking between Scott and the scene before him. “Why?”

Scott swallowed a lump in his throat, taking a moment to gather himself. “Don’t you know who that is?”

Derek just shook his head, but now he was terrified to find out the answer. Panic and guilt were rolling off Scott and he looked very close to having a breakdown.

“Derek,” Scott said and Derek was surprised he was able to get any words out at all, “that’s his mom.”

-

If Derek thought he felt miserable before it was nothing compared to how he felt now. He sat, back against a tree, head in his hands, palms digging into his eyes. Scott hadn’t stopped pacing since he had told Derek who the woman was.

_His mom? His mom!_

Derek knew this demon could be cruel, but this seemed like a new low. Bringing back his deceased mother made Derek feel absolutely sick. How could he rip Stiles’ mother away from him? He had looked so happy to see her, to have his arms wrapped around her. He remembered Stiles had told him that his mother had died when he was younger. He had watched her slip away from an incurable disease and it nearly destroyed his family. Derek understood why Scott and Melissa meant so much to Stiles and the Sheriff. He knew what it was like losing family. Having the hope of seeing them, of hugging them, of loving them, and being with them just for it to be taken away again was unthinkable. 

Scott was right. Stiles was going to hate them for doing this. 

“No.” He said out loud, looking up for the first time in what felt like hours. He saw Scott had paused in his pacing, his broken gaze finding Derek. “The demon did this. He’s the one who is using Stiles’ mom against him. Stiles would hate us for not stopping this.”

Scott looked unsure as he shuffled on his feet, but Derek had to believe that. 

“Scott,” Derek said gently, “you know Stiles. If he knew this wasn’t real he wouldn’t want it.”

Scott nodded his head. “I know. I just-” he said taking in a deep breath, “he was a wreck when she died. He tried to be strong for his dad, you know, but I saw him at his worst and his panic attacks were awful. Thank god for my mom because she was way more useful than I was, but I don’t want him to have to go through that again.”

Derek threw his head over his shoulder, eyes falling on the house for the first time in a while. He could see people starting to gather their things, like the night was coming to end. Derek could feel they were running out of time.

“He won’t be alone.” Derek said as he looked back at Scott. “He’ll have you, me, his dad, the entirety of the pack. We won’t let him go through this by himself.”

Derek watched as Scott’s face scrunched up at his words, like he was concentrating on something far off in the distance.

“The pack.” He whispered more to himself than Derek.

Derek’s eyebrows shot up in confusion, but he turned to see the pack spilling out into the street, hugging and starting to wave their goodbyes. Stiles was caught in a conversation with not Derek, not Scott, Scott’s mom, Kira, and Lydia. Derek ached to be by his side, to have his arm casually resting around Stiles’ waist, to lean in and breathe in his scent. He felt Scott’s hand on his shoulder and he faced the younger alpha, surprised to see a look of hope flickering across his features.

“Derek,” Scott said, his voice weirdly calm as he met Derek’s eyes, “how do wolves signal their location to the rest of the pack?”

Derek sucked in a deep breath. They should have known the answer from the moment they stepped into Stiles’ mind. 

“They howl.” He whispered

Scott nodded his head eagerly, a smile breaking over his face. “They howl.” He agreed.

Both wolves began to shift in sync, turning so they were facing Stiles, who was still laughing off in the distance. Derek opened his mouth, his howl ringing loud and clear, echoing across the pines and open spaces, just as Scott’s was. It was both beautiful and terrifying, the howl of two alpha’s harmonizing together. The sound washed over the group of people, seemingly undisturbed, like they hadn’t heard anything. Scott and Derek watched, eyes wide as Stiles continued to laugh, like he was immune, like it was too late.

Derek felt his heart sinking in his chest, but just as the last echo began to fade he noticed the smile slowly falling off of Stiles’ face. Stiles threw his head over his shoulder, amber eyes wandering for a moment before he locked them onto where Derek and Scott were standing.

“He heard us.” Scott whispered, afraid to break whatever they had just done.

They watched as Stiles’ eyes grew wider, his chest rising and falling quickly, like he had forgotten how to breathe. He took a step towards them, hands reaching out.

“Derek? Scott?” He asked, but his voice was distant, far away.

“Stiles!” Derek called, moving towards him without thinking. 

He needed to get to Stiles. Nothing else mattered except getting to Stiles. He knew Scott was right behind him, but before they had even past the clearing the entire scene shifted. The sun began to set in the sky, the people and the cars disappearing into the darkness. Derek picked up his pace, Stiles was still standing there, wide eyed and waiting. He was getting closer, so much closer, all he had to do was reach out and...

Derek’s hand was only met with air. Stiles was gone. It was just the two of them, Scott and Derek, standing in the middle of the empty road with nothing, but the sliver of moonlight shining down on them. They had been so close, he was right there, _right there_! And now he was gone. 

“Where the hell did he go?” Scott asked as he circled around, the panic from moments ago returning full force.

“I don’t know.” Derek breathed as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “I don’t know.” His heart was in his throat and he was practically drowning in Scott’s fear and anxiety, wanting to gag from the stench of it.

“I knew you two were going to be trouble.” 

Derek and Scott whipped around, both of their alpha shifts taking over as they stared down the newcomer. It was the blonde, curly headed stranger they had seen at the coffee shop. He was smiling at them, that smile that was almost too perfect, hands folded behind his back and un-phased to see two pairs of glowing red eyes glowering in his direction.

“But I was curious.” The man continued, as if he knew the wolves wouldn’t break their silent glare. “And I almost had you.” He said, his grin only growing wider.

Derek suppressed a shiver going down his spine. He hated that smile. It was too knowing. It was like a predator toying with his food before he planned on devouring it in the most painful way possible.

“You’re the demon.” Derek finally said.

The blonde stranger just shrugged his shoulders, not affirming the statement, but not denying it either.

“We know who you are.” Scott said, catching the demon’s attention. “Vazron.”

The demon suddenly froze, grabbing his throat, making some sort of choking noise, before falling to his knees. Derek looked over at Scott, sharing a look of disbelief, before it melted back into anger as the demon began laughing. Derek trained his eyes back on the demon, who was slowly getting to his feet, his dark cackles filling the space between them.

“You know that only works when Stiles says my name, right?” Vazron asked as he wiped a fake tear from his eye, smiling fondly at them. “Because we’re in his mind.” He continued as he pointed to the ground with both hands as if to prove his point.

“Where is Stiles?” Derek growled.

Vazron waved him away. “Calm yourself, alpha. He’s perfectly fine. Probably cuddling up next to you, or well, not you exactly, but dream you.” He said brightly, making lots of hand gestures. It was very Stiles like, which was unsettling. “Although, now I’m curious, how did you figure out my name?”

Derek and Scott exchanged another glance, neither knowing what to do. Derek had thought the naming thing was going to work. That’s what Deaton had told them. There was power in a name, especially over a demon, but it seemed like they were well past having any power at all. They needed to get to Stiles. He had heard them once, maybe he could hear them again.

“If I remember correctly,” Vazron continued when the wolves said nothing, “Stiles found it. That’s why I took over his mind, obviously.” He, again, gestured vaguely to the surrounding area. “He had it all figured out and you just let it slip through your fingers until someone, probably Lydia, discovered his research. Am I right?”

Derek growled, wanting to rip this demon’s throat out. He knew he probably wouldn’t even reach the demon before he was expelled from Stiles’ mind, but the temptation was there and it took almost everything in him to remain rooted to the spot.

“He’s so clever!” Vazron said with a laugh, taking their silence as confirmation that he was, indeed, correct. “I picked a good one. This has been a real challenge for me.” The demon continued, like he enjoyed having an audience. “Stiles was starting to catch on even though I was giving him everything his little heart desired.”

“What do you mean?” Scott asked, voice low and dangerous.

“Well,” Vazronn said with a small sigh, “I thought giving him Derek, not you,” the demon said as he held up his hands in Derek’s direction, “my Derek, would be enough. He really loves you.”

Derek swallowed a lump in his throat. He wished he could say that the demon was lying, that it was just another trick, but Derek had felt it in that stolen kiss. Stiles’ love, like warm sun rays, poured over him, filling him with warmth and light and hope and _fuck_ he loved Stiles. He fucking loved Stiles with every fiber of his being.

Maybe the demon knew this because his smile was still too knowing as he looked at Derek.

“Well, that’s interesting.” Vazron murmured, gaze unwavering. “I should have known when you slipped up at the Hale house.” He purred. “You really wanted to stay in that moment, didn’t you?”

“So what happened?” Scott asked, before Derek could answer, causing both of them to look at him. “What is convincing Stiles to stay?”

Now the demon’s smile looked positively evil and this time Derek could not stop the shudder going down his spine and he could see the same feeling overcome Scott.

“I really had to pull the big guns out for that one.” Vazron said. “Giving him his mommy dearest really sealed the deal.”

Derek saw Scott snarl, leaping forward, and the alpha had to grab Scott from behind, arms wrapping around his waist to stop him from doing anything stupid.

“Fuck you.” Derek growled, still struggling to hold onto Scott.

“Hey,” the demon said, raising his hands up in a surrendering motion, “I’m just giving my favorite little human everything he wants. You’re the ones who want to take it all away from him.”

“You’re killing him!” Scott snapped, claws digging into Derek’s arm.

“Yes and no.” Vazron replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “Yes, because once he submits to me completely his body in the physical world will be mine forever, but I’d like to think I’ve given him a happy alternative where he can live out his life like he always wanted.” He pointed at both wolves, his eyes and tone accusing. “You’re being the selfish ones, not letting him go.”

“Stiles wouldn’t want this,” Derek barked desperately, “he wouldn’t want to live in a lie.”

They weren’t being selfish. This isn’t what Stiles would want. Stiles liked knowing the truth and doing the right thing. They were trying to save him. Stiles was pack. They couldn’t lose Stiles. Derek couldn’t lose Stiles. He was too important. They needed him.

_Oh fuck._

Were they being selfish? Stiles was happy, really, truly happy here and they were just going to pull him back in the real world where everything was dark and awful and oh god, oh fuck…

“Big guy is catching on.” The demon said as he watched Derek closely.

“Derek,” Scott whined, looking up at the alpha, “this isn’t real for Stiles and that’s not fair to him.” Scott was echoing Derek’s words from just moments ago, but everything was so confusing and wrong.

“It’s real enough.” Vazron said nonchalantly. “Listen, this has been fun! I think I captured you two really well in my little world, but now I have to go fix my problem.”

“Stiles heard our call.” Derek said. He couldn’t stop the small smirk from filling his lips. “He saw us.”

The demon rolled his eyes, groaning as he massaged his temples. “He did. God, your supid pack dynamics are annoying and he’s not even a werewolf!”

“He doesn’t need to be.” Scott replied hotly. “He’s pack.”

“Yeah, whatever.” He gave Scott a dismissive way. “I have one last trick up my sleeve,” he said, grin returning, “and I think Stiles is really going to like it.”

Derek felt his body freezing as Scott tensed in his arms, no longer struggling to break free. What more could this demon offer that would allow him to forget who he really was and where he belonged? Derek was afraid to find out.

“How cliche would it be for you to propose on New Year’s Eve?” The demon asked, a faux look of interest passing over his face.

“Don’t you dare.” Derek breathed out.

Vazron laughed. “Come on Derek, you’ve been dating for nearly four years! I think it’s time.”

“Please.” Derek heard himself beg. He felt so sick. This was going to break Stiles.

“I’ll take that as a yes, totally cliched, but Stiles is going to love it anyway.” The demon responded, his voice raising, is grin maddening, and his eyes blazing with fire. He seemed to remember himself as he cleared his throat, eyes returning to a calming blue. “I’d get rid of you, but I kind of want you to watch the show. That way when you wake up and see me, as Stiles, you’ll know you failed.”

“No, no, no, don’t do this.” Scott stammered out, his weight dropping, knees hitting the ground.

“Catch you guys later.” Vazron winked before he disappeared into the darkness. 

Before they could say or do anything Derek and Scott were suddenly thrust back into the loft, just in front of the bed where Stiles and not Derek were passed out. Both boys exchanged a look of horror before they shifted into their alpha forms. They charged at the force field, throwing their weight against it, teeth snapping, claws slashing, howl's piercing the silence as they desperately tried to break through.

Stiles remained fast asleep.

-

Something was wrong.

Something was wrong. Something was wrong. _Something was wrong!_

Stiles couldn’t get that thought out of his head as he steadily paced back and forth in the empty loft. He was supposed to be hanging up decorations for the New Year’s Eve party they were hosting this evening, but Stiles wasn’t in the mood. The week between now and Christmas felt like a blur, like he couldn’t remember much of it. Something had changed.

He had heard a howl. Their howl. Scott and Derek’s howl. Except, how the fuck did he hear that when they had been standing right next to him? But they weren’t. He had heard the howl and suddenly, they were in the small clearing just beyond the driveway. Why were they there, when they were also standing right next to him? Derek had his arm around his waist, but it hadn’t felt real. Nothing around him had felt real except the devastated stares from two of the people he loved most in the world. 

Stiles pulled at his hair, knowing he needed to keep his heart rate down or Derek would be asking him a million questions as soon as he returned home. He had somehow managed to keep his panic at bay, because something was wrong and he needed to figure it out. He could still hear that howl, vibrating through his bones, echoing in his heart. It was loud and strong and true. It was also completely fucking terrifying because it somehow made everything else around him feel fake. Scott’s laugh was distant and more forced. Derek’s gentle touch on his arm was no longer grounding. Worst of all the sorrowful ache in his chest overwhelmed him when he was around his mom, the smell of death and decay lingering under the cinnamon and clove.

_Wake up, Stiles_

Those words had followed him. A warning. A message. A plea. But what did he need to wake up from? Where did real life begin and the nightmare end? He paused in his pacing, turning his head over his shoulder, looking out in the empty space before him. He breathed out slowly, taking a cautious step forward, hands reaching out. He made it three more steps before stopping, eyes narrowing for a moment. He extended his hands, like he was reaching for some sort of invisible wall. There was nothing, but cold air. He pursed his lips together, eyes fluttering shut, his heart thumping loudly in his chest as he felt a rush of warmth against his palms. It was a familiar warmth, soothing, protective, loving.

“Derek.” He murmured. “Scott.”

He didn’t know why he had said their names, but when he opened his eyes he wanted them to be standing there. He was disappointed when it was just him in the empty space, alone. He felt hot tears rolling down his cheeks and he hastily wiped them away, feeling stupid for letting them fall. He closed his eyes again, this time fully extending his arms, hands tense as he concentrated on the warmth. There was a hum in the air and Stiles felt something, like electricity rush through his fingertips. He stretched them forward, reaching, reaching, _reaching_ …

The warmth grew stronger, hotter, and then there was a strong grasp around his wrist, a rough, calloused hand holding on to him, like it never wanted to let go. The other grip was softer, more forgiving, but still holding on to Stiles like a lifeline. He, in turn, gripped them back, like they were an anchor. This. This felt real. More real than anything else had in days, weeks, years. How could this be real? He hadn’t dared open his eyes because this was so weird and crazy and he was losing his goddamn mind because what the actual _fuck_ was happening and-

“ _Stiles_.”

Stiles cracked, his eyes flying open and there they were. Scott and Derek. Derek and Scott. They were holding on to him and Scott looked like he was crying and Derek, oh god, Derek looked beautiful, his face soft and so full of emotion that it was completely overwhelming. All Stiles could do was just stare at them, his hands tightening around their wrist, because he couldn’t let them go.

Finally, after what seemed like forever Stiles whispered, “I heard you.”

“You found us.” Derek returned, Scott nodding his head in agreement.

Stiles felt a grin break over his face as more tears spilled onto his cheeks. He pulled them forward because they needed to be in his arms, but they were gone. Stiles stumbled forward, a terrified _no_ wanting to burst from his lips. The loft was full of people, colored lights shining on the walls, music blasting from a speaker somewhere behind him, but they were gone!

“Stiles!” Scott smiled as he threw his arm around Stiles’ shoulder, pulling him into an embrace.

But it wasn’t Scott. This wasn’t his Scott. His Scott had been holding on to him, tears falling from his eyes, grief, guilt, and love radiating from his entire being as he had reached for Stiles, wanting to close the distance between them.

“No,” Stiles said as he ducked out of _not Scott’s_ hold, “get away from me.”

“Stiles,” not Scott frowned, a hurt look on his face, “what’s up, man?”

“Scott?” Stiles called as he turned away from the imposter. He had to find his best friend and he needed to find him now. “Scott!”

He pushed through crowds of people that were trying to grab a hold of him, steady him, but he just moved out of their grasp. He didn’t want them. He wanted Scott. He wanted Derek. As he stumbled through he could have sworn he saw that curly headed stranger from the bar watching him, but he didn’t have time to dwell on that right now. Not Scott was still calling after him, but he didn’t look back as he pressed forward. They had been right there and the loft had been empty. Had he blacked out? What was going on?

“Scott!” Stiles’ voice was raw. “Derek!”

“Stiles, I’m right here.”

For a fleeting moment Stiles felt relief wash over him at the sound of that voice, but when he turned his anxiety only spiked. Derek was walking towards him, but somehow, it wasn’t _his Derek_. He fell back against the wall.

“What’s wrong?” Not Derek asked as he reached out for Stiles, arms gently holding him. “Stiles, talk to me.”

His face was full of concern and understanding and Stiles really wanted to melt in his arms and pretend like nothing had happened. Wasn’t this his Derek? Hadn’t they spent years together, slowly building their relationship until it had exploded into whatever they were now? Derek loved him and he loved Derek. He had rebuilt the Hale house for him. His mom and dad treated Derek like a second son. He couldn’t lose Derek. He couldn’t-

“Listen,” not Derek said as he pulled something from his pocket, “I know things have been stressful recently, but-”

“No,” Stiles said, tears pricking his eyes, “Derek, no…”

He knew what was happening and oh god, oh god, oh god how he wanted this so much. Derek was still talking, like Stiles hadn’t said a word, some long winded speech about how Derek loved Stiles and how he was his anchor. It was beautiful, perfectly Derek. Somewhere behind him he could hear everyone counting down as midnight rapidly approached, but his attention was on Derek and fuck fuck _fuck_.

“Stiles, will you marry me?”

Stiles closed his eyes, heart hammering away, his hands moving numbly to cup Derek’s face. It would be so easy to say yes, because it’s the only thing he wanted to say. He wanted to grow old, with Derek by his side, and now was his chance. All he had to do was just say yes.

“I want to,” Stiles murmured as he opened his eyes, “more than anything.” He brushed his thumb against Derek’s cheek, “but you’re not my Derek.”

After those words left his lips it was like something broke. The music stopped, the people all stood frozen around him, and a small hum pressed through the air before a shimmer exploded fading into soft sparkles. It fell around him, like snow. Everything was still the same, the people frozen in place, but Stiles spotted them instantly and he knew they were his. He took off running, throwing himself at them before they even had a chance to meet him in the middle.

Derek and Scott easily caught Stiles, their arms wrapping around the boy in an almost too tight embrace. Scott had buried his head in Stiles’ neck while Derek pressed his cheek on Stiles’ head, his lips brushing over the mess of hair. Stiles had found them.

Their moment of happiness soon ended as a slow clap echoed through the loft. Derek and Scott regretfully released Stiles so the latter could turn and look to see the person walking towards them. Derek and Scott immediately shifted into alpha mode, but Stiles remained calm as the frozen people turned to dust around them.

“I must say,” the blonde stranger said, still clapping his hands, an amused expression on his face, “I am impressed. A little annoyed, but impressed.”

“Believe me,” Stiles replied, voice low, “I wasn’t aiming to impress you.”

“I could have tortured you,” the strange continued, his eyes glowing red, “but once I got inside I was curious. I mean,” he laughed, “you’ve had a Nogitsune poking around in here and you defeated him!”

Stiles didn’t say anything, but he felt a hand at the small of his back. He didn’t have to turn to know it was Derek.

“I took that as a challenge.” The stranger, the demon, grew his smile, too wide for his human face, his fingers laced behind his back casually. “And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like you, Stiles. I gave you everything you wanted.”

He held out one hand as not Derek materialized next to him, the rest of the pack forming just behind the alpha.

“You wanted your pack, safe, happy, and home where you could all be together.” The demon explained as he moved around not Derek, placing a hand on the wolf’s shoulder. “You wanted Derek, so I gave him to you.”

Stiles still felt the hand at his back, but his cheeks were flushing hot with embarrassment. Their relationship had been a lie. He loved Derek, but the real Derek, would never love him like that in return. They were friends, but nothing more. Stiles could feel his heart breaking. How could he ever look Derek in the eyes again after what the alpha had seen? He felt sick, but the warm fingers pressed into his skin kept him grounded.

“I was even kind enough to give you back something you lost.” The demon plowed on, taking a step forward as Stiles’ mom appeared out of thin air, smiling warmly at him.

Scott growled and Stiles could feel the younger alpha pressed into his side, like a protective shield.

“It’s not too late, Stiles,” the demon said as he drew closer to Stiles, “this can all still be yours.”

Stiles just shook his head, words failing him as tears trickled down his cheeks. He hated how much he did want it, how tempting it was. The demon reached out a hand and Stiles stepped forward, even as his friends protested behind him. He felt cold without their warmth, the demon’s shadow fingers like ice in his hands.

“The real world is cruel and unrelenting,” the demon purred as he moved his hands to cup Stiles’ face, “let me be its savior. Let me burn it down for you.”

Derek and Scott stood frozen as they watched Stiles stand between them and the demon, wrapped up in the darkness. Derek wanted to do something, anything, but his heart was in his throat and he was terrified because Stiles looked so fragile and broken, cradled by shadows.

“That’s it,” the demon said, his pointed white teeth on full display, “give me what I want.”

It would have been easy, like falling asleep. Stiles wished, more than anything, his life was easy. He suppressed the sob rising in his chest as he looked into those glowing, fire eyes, because now he needed to be strong.

“Get out of my head.”

His voice was dangerous and so unlike him and the demon’s smile fell into a snarl.

“What did you say?”

“I said get out of my head.” Stiles ordered, louder, more clear. His hands grasped the demon’s pulling them away from his face.

“I’m going to make you regret that.” The demon said his eyes flashing.

Derek suddenly felt overwhelmed with pain, as he fell to his knees. He could hear Scott groaning beside him, but Derek only had the strength to find Stiles. He looked angry, amber eyes narrowed in fierce determination as he stepped protectively in front of his friends.

“You have no power here, Vazron.” Stiles snarled.

The pain was gone as quickly as it came and Derek was stumbling to his feet, Scott’s arms pulling him forward. The demon opened its mouth, jaw unhinged like a snake as it screamed. It was the most horrifying sound Derek had ever heard. Stiles crashed back into them and both alpha’s held onto their human, afraid they would lose him. The world around them began to melt as the demon continued to scream. Derek watched as Stiles turned, a small, sad smile on his face as he looked at them.

“See you on the other side.” He said with a wink before a bright, white light consumed them.

-

Derek jerked forward, a gasp escaping his lips. His knees hit the loft floor and he felt sharp pains shooting up his thighs. He felt hands on his arms and looked up to see Boyd and Jackson pulling him to his feet. Kira and Isaac were holding up Scott, but all Derek cared about was Stiles. He pulled himself from his beta’s hold, moving so he was kneeling in front of the human, whose head was slumped against his chest. Derek took Stiles’ face in his hands, his heart rate spiking. 

“Stiles?” He called, shaking him gently, “Stiles!”

It hadn’t worked. Why hadn’t it worked? Derek could feel pure fear overcome him as Stiles remained motionless in his hands. Had they been too late? Was it just another trick from the demon, making them think they had won? Was Stiles really…

_Gone_

Before he could let his heart shatter into pieces Stiles shot up, gasping as he grabbed at Derek’s hands. His eyes were completely black and as he opened his mouth to scream dark, thick smoke came pouring out.

“Get back!” Deaton ordered.

Derek barely had time to snarl at anyone for getting too close as he was yanked away by three pairs of hands. Stiles fell to the ground, the black smoke curling around into a dark shape, until Stiles collapsed completely, his eyes returning to their normal color. The demon took his full form, burning eyes, endless limbs, sharp teeth snapping as its darkness reached out for Stiles.

_I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING_

The voice was commanding and terrible, shattering the windows of the loft. Stiles scrambled backwards and Scott reached out for him, wrapping Stiles in his arms. Howls and snarls rose up in a chorus as the pack surrounded the demon.

_YOU THINK YOUR PACK CAN SAVE YOU, STILES? THERE WILL BE NOTHING LEFT WHEN I AM THROUGH WITH YOU_

“I wouldn’t count on that.” Derek snarled as he stood protectively in front of Scott and Stiles.

The demon only laughed, but as he tried to move forward he realized he was trapped. On the floor where he was standing was a giant spell circle, surrounded by mountain ash. The eyes were blazing hot as they looked at Derek.

_I WILL HAVE YOU BEGGING FOR DEATH DEREK HALE AS I BREAK YOUR BELOVED HUMAN IN MY HANDS_

“I think it’s time we sent this asshole back to hell.” Erica growled.

The demon screamed and fought, tearing through the barrier as Deaton began the banishing ritual. Derek didn’t move from his spot, teeth bared, red eyes narrowed in anger. That thing was never going to touch Stiles ever again. The room was alive with something and the demon released one, final cry before it was sucked down into the floor, only a wisp of smoke curling through the air where it had vanished. No one spoke for a moment, afraid that something bad would happen if they did.

Scott was the first to say something. “Is it over?”

“Yes,” Deaton smiled, his voice exhausted, “the demon is gone.”

The air around them became breathable again, the pack visibly relaxing before all eyes turned to Scott and Stiles who were huddled on the floor, backs against the couch. Stiles was still clinging to Scott with all his strength, chest heaving as he watched the spot where the demon had disappeared. 

“Stiles?” Lydia spoke, voice soft, tentative.

They had won, but Derek knew the cost had been too high. He could see Stiles trying to hold it together, but his resolve was quickly slipping. He wanted to reach out for him, take him in his arms and kiss him like he did when they were in front of the Hale house.

“Bathroom.” Stiles muttered.

Scott quickly pulled both of them to their feet, supporting most of Stiles’ weight as he dragged the human in the direction of the bathroom. Derek noticed the pack wanted to follow, to help, but Stiles only held his hand out to stop them.

“Just Scott.” He said, voice a little broken. “Please, just Scott.”

Derek felt a little hurt by the words and he knew the pack felt the same, but they respected his wishes as they backed off. Derek knew, in time, Stiles would let the rest of the pack in, but for now they would just have to wait.

-

Scott had gotten him to the bathroom just in time. Stiles dove for the toilet, retching up a black liquid that tasted much fouler than it smelled, which, funnily enough, was horrendous as it smelled quite awful. Scott remained silent, just kneeling next to Stiles, a warm hand rubbing his back. Stiles gripped the sides of the porcelain so hard his knuckles were going white, but he just continued to let his body purge whatever the demon had left behind. There were tears too, sobs wracking his entire frame because he was now fully realizing what he had been through.

Although the dream world lingered, the memories still scattered in his mind, they were faded, like ghosts who had long forgotten to move on. He was in Scott’s arms, his fingers gripping his best friend’s shirt tightly.

“She’s gone, Scott.” Was the first thing he was able to get out between sobs.

Losing Derek was one thing. It made his heart ache in a way he never knew it could. The only thing that felt worse was having his mother ripped away from him once again. Her lingering warmth, her smell of cinnamon and clove were all, but gone. She was gone and that was a blow Stiles felt like he couldn’t recover from.

“I know.” Scott said as he just held onto Stiles’ tighter, failing to stop his own tears from falling.

“Oh god,” Stiles wheezed, full on panic mode, “oh god, I can’t survive this.”

Scott whined as he held on, not knowing what else to do. Moments later the door opened and despite what Stiles had said the pack poured in over the threshold. Derek got there first, his arms coming around both of them and it only made Stiles cry harder, but he didn’t push Derek away. Then there was Isaac and Erica and Allison. Lydia, Kira, Boyd, and even Jackson followed. They all somehow were holding onto Stiles, touching him, giving him comfort.

Stiles didn’t know whether it was Scott’s miserable cry that had called them in or his own desperate sobs, but he suddenly realized he needed them. They were his pack and things weren’t perfect, but he loved them and they loved him. Stiles was pressed between Scott and Derek and he could feel the latter’s stubble against his cheek. The alpha was murmuring comforting words into his ear and maybe, just maybe Derek did love Stiles the way Stiles loved him, but he couldn’t think about that now. Instead, he let himself be wrapped in the comfort of his pack, thinking that yeah, maybe he will be okay after all. 

-

It had been a few weeks since he had woken from his comatose state. A few weeks of being back in the real world. Deaton had told him eventually everything he had experienced and lived in the demon’s illusion would become more like a faded memory or a lost dream. It was rough, readjusting. He was terrified of sleeping, paranoid that maybe he wasn’t really awake and was, once again, trapped in a place he didn’t belong. Deaton had given him some magical top that would never stop spinning if he was caught in an illusion or a dream. Stiles had snorted at it, wondering if he hadn’t secretly fallen into that Leonardo Dicaprio movie, but it didn’t stop him from spinning the damn thing every fifteen minutes, just to be sure.

The hardest part so far had been walking through his own door, only to find that his mother wasn’t waiting for him. He had barely made it past the front room before he had collapsed to the ground. Luckily, Derek had been there to catch him and together, the alpha wolf and his father, had talked him down from that panic attack. He would have been embarrassed, but he couldn’t find the energy for it. 

Not once did he and Derek - nor he and Scott for that matter - talk about what they had seen when they had come in to help Stiles break free of the demon’s hold. This suited Stiles just fine because he just wanted to forget as much as possible. He had felt so much closer to the pack in his fantasy world and now he was terrified of doing or saying something that might annoy them or rub them the wrong way. He knew they were curious as to what Derek and Scott saw, and he had begrudgingly agreed to let the alpha’s tell as much or as little about the dream world as they saw fit. Stiles selfishly thought it would be the best way to explain his weird behavior if he said or did something they weren’t used to. 

He didn’t really question when Scott came over to play video games, offering an easy distraction, but Stiles noticed he was sitting closer, always needing to touch in some small way. Shoulders bumping, knees brushing, or just the graze of fingers against his wrist. It wasn’t weird either when Lydia came over, bringing him his homework - because school was just out of the question right now, thank god for flu season - and stayed late to make sure he was caught up. He was starting to see Isaac more, which, okay, he was actually really starting to grow his friendship with the beta, so not completely out of the ordinary. Sometimes Allison would be with him, sometimes it would just be the curly haired wolf and a two cups of coffee. Stiles also noticed Isaac felt the need to be more hands on, he even made sure to hug Stiles both when he showed up and right before he left. It didn’t get really weird until he noticed Erica and Boyd made it a point that Stiles had to sit between them when they picked up their pack bonding nights again, arms and legs just wrapped around the poor, overheating human. The final straw came when Jackson - _fucking Jackson_ \- had picked Stiles to be his partner for one of the games, only mildly complaining at how bad he was at pictionary, before making sure that their shoulders touched as they watched other teams take their turn.

That’s when Stiles was now sure the pack had some idea of what had gone on. They were scenting him, pulling him in, reminding him that he was important. He was pack. They were trying hard to build the bond that had been so strong in his mind. Stiles could tell it wasn’t just benefitting him. The pack looked happier than they had in months. Pack bonding nights were full of warmth and laughter. The only thing missing was Derek. While, yes, the alpha was certainly around, he always hovered awkwardly in Stiles’ space, unsure of where he belonged in their relationship. Stiles tried not to be hurt by it, but he couldn’t stop the ache in his chest every time he saw Derek. One evening he had been sitting next to the alpha on the couch during a movie night and he, without thinking, laid against Derek, fiddling with the wolf’s fingers absentmindedly like it was natural. It wasn’t until the movie was over did he realize what he had done. He knew he just needed to talk about his feelings, but every time he started to bring them up he started to spiral into a panic attack, and promptly just ran away. 

He was stuck in a state of having Derek, but not having Derek. One wrong move and he felt like he would lose the alpha completely, and he just couldn’t handle _that_ right now. 

Stiles scrubbed his face tiredly as he pushed back from his desk. It was covered in large pieces of paper with drawings and notes, blue prints poking out from under the bigger stacks. It was well past midnight and he knew he needed to get some sleep soon. The pack had mentioned something about playing a game of ultimate frisbee in the park before having a picnic and he needed to make sure he had enough energy if he was going to keep up with the wolves. There was a small tap at his window and he turned, a small smile breaking over his face as he moved to open it.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” 

Derek gracefully slipped inside and Stiles felt his heart start to beat a little bit harder. He moved to sit on his bed while Derek just stood in the corner awkwardly, eyes darting around the room.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Derek asked after a moment, his eyes falling on Stiles.

“Yeah,” Stiles said as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “I was just getting ready to do that actually.”

“Oh.” Derek said and Stiles watched as he started to move towards the window. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“No!” Stiles said a little more desperately than he wanted to. He had quickly gotten to his feet, his fingers wrapping around the sleeves of the leather jacket, keeping the alpha in place. “I mean, you could stay for a bit, I don’t mind.”

Derek gave him a genuine smile as he moved away from the window. He shrugged his jacket off and carefully sat down across from Stiles. The alpha cleared his throat, looking down at his hands. “Stiles, I know you don’t want to talk about what happened, but I can’t stop thinking about-” He paused, not sure how to phrase his next words.

“Us?” Stiles supplied helpfully. He didn’t really know how long Derek and Scott had been caught up in the dream world, but it was painfully obvious how Stiles felt.

Derek nodded his head. “When Deaton suggested we go into your mind I was selfishly scared.” he admitted quietly.

Stiles’ eyebrows perked up in curiosity. Derek rarely ever admitted to being afraid. “Why?”

“There were two possibilities of what we were going to walk into.” Derek began, forest eyes meeting his favorite amber orbs. “One, you being endlessly tortured, which I can’t even bring myself to think about because it makes me unbelievably angry. Two, it would be everything you’ve ever wanted.”

Stiles smiled wryly. “I’m not really sure which one would have been worse in the end.”

Derek huffed a small laugh before continuing. “I was selfishly scared that if you were in a world where you had everything you wanted that I wouldn’t be there.”

Stiles’ eyes widened and he reached out, taking Derek’s hand. “Instead, you got quite the opposite.” Stiles joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Derek tightened his grip on Stiles, not wanting to let go. He remembered the moment when Stiles had reached out for them, breaking whatever spell the demon had casted. It was like finding your way home after being lost at sea in a storm.

“Stiles,” Derek murmured, “I saw what you did for me, or not me, but you know, dream me, with my family home.”

Stiles smiled slightly, “You were there?”

Derek nodded his head. He wanted to tell Stiles about the kiss he stole and how, in that moment, he realized how he really felt for this extraordinary beautiful human being. Before he could even begin to explain Stiles was climbing to his feet, his hand still grasped tightly in Derek’s. He moved to the desk, straightening out some of the papers for Derek to see.

“There’s a lot of things I don’t want to remember, because it hurts too much, but” Stiles said, offering Derek a small smile, “I didn’t want to forget this, because maybe we can make this a reality.”

Derek leaned in, getting a better look before he realized he was staring down at drawings, notes, and blueprints of a new Hale house. It looked similar to the one in the dream world, with minor details changed here and there. Stiles wanted to rebuild his home, make it a place for their new family, their pack. He could feel Stiles shifting nervously behind him.

“I can’t really deny me feelings for you anymore, Derek.” Stiles whispered. “And it’s okay if you don’t feel the same, but I can’t lose you and-”

Derek stopped him before he could finish that sentence. Stiles’ face was cupped in his hands, their lips meeting, soft and gentle. He could hear Stiles’ breath hitch in his throat as they parted, foreheads leaning against each other.

“I do feel the same.” Derek said without hesitation.

Stiles was smiling against Derek’s lips. “You’re real and you love me.”

“I’m real and I love you.” Derek nodded his head.

Stiles was kissing him again because he didn’t have any more words he just needed to be as close to Derek as possible. Yeah, maybe his real life wasn’t perfect, and he wouldn’t get everything he ever wanted, but Stiles had what he needed and that was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I totally did the thing where they go "oh" when they realize they are in love cause who doesn't love that trope? Also, can you tell that Stiles is my favorite for how much pain I put him through? Sorry, Stiles, I swear I love you! This was fun to write! Once again I just wanted some angst with a bit of plot thrown in there. And lots of pack feels because they are the best. Let me know your thoughts and thanks for reading!


End file.
